OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government will support work in the oil and gas sector by spending $1.7 billion to help clean up “orphaned wells.”
He says restoring abandoned oil and gas wells is good for the environment, for landowners who have to contend with them, and for thousands of workers the effort will employ.
The federal government is also creating a $750-million fund to cut methane emissions.
Speaking outside his Ottawa residence, Trudeau says the government expects all the spending to maintain 10,000 jobs across the country.
He adds that the government is going to provide $962 million to regional development agencies to help more businesses, particularly those that don’t have relationships with traditional financial institutions.
And he’s promising hundreds of millions of dollars in support for the arts and culture industries through the Department of Canadian Heritage.