Environmental liabilities and asset retirement obligation

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Environmental liabilities are based on the government's best estimate of the amount required to remediate the site to current minimum environmental standards. Asset retirement obligations are the government's estimated costs related to obligations associated with the retirement of tangible capital assets. These costs are normally capitalized and amortized over the asset's estimated useful life. The liability reflects the present value of estimated future cash flows required to retire the asset.

Table 5.7
Environmental liabilitiesLinks to footnote * in table 1
(in dollars)
  2024 2023
Remediation liabilities for contaminated sites
Agriculture and Agri-Food
Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food 14,760,739 16,648,377
Canadian Heritage
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 119,000 119,000
National Battlefields Commission 999,921 –
Subtotal 1,118,921 119,000
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs
Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs 6,211,786,057 6,328,147,878
Environment and Climate Change
Department of the Environment 283,601,186 185,587,573
Parks Canada Agency 154,833,597 156,637,953
Subtotal 438,434,783 342,225,526
Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
Department of Fisheries and Oceans 294,313,309 285,371,236
Global Affairs
Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development 17,600 17,250
Indigenous Services
Department of Indigenous Services 488,323,850 488,207,913
Infrastructure and Communities
The Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Inc. 112,688,000 143,645,000
Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority 8,394,000 8,381,000
Subtotal 121,082,000 152,026,000
Innovation, Science and Industry
Department of Industry 1,301,743 1,507,989
National Research Council of Canada 3,291,949 3,434,851
Subtotal 4,593,692 4,942,840
National Defence
Department of National Defence 736,358,661 614,814,783
Natural Resources
Department of Natural Resources 1,776,203 592,943
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited 1,172,128,000 1,333,856,000
Subtotal 1,173,904,203 1,334,448,943
Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs
Canada Border Services Agency 513,895 699,575
Correctional Service of Canada 1,794,526 2,007,807
Royal Canadian Mounted Police 6,273,063 5,946,075
Subtotal 8,581,484 8,653,457
Public Services and Procurement
Department of Public Works and Government Services 173,272,742 193,150,064
National Capital Commission 72,113,000 73,693,000
Subtotal 245,385,742 266,843,064
Transport
Department of Transport 291,418,492 269,815,201
VIA Rail Canada Inc. 6,779,000 5,920,000
Subtotal 298,197,492 275,735,201
Total remediation liability for contaminated sites 10,036,858,533 10,118,201,468
Other environmental liabilities
National Defence
Department of National Defence (unexploded explosive ordnance affected sites) 119,544,516 135,624,840
Total environmental liabilities 10,156,403,049 10,253,826,308

Changes in liability for remediation of contaminated sites

Table 5.8
Changes in liability for remediation of contaminated sites
(in dollars)
  2024 2023
Opening balance 10,118,201,468 10,023,989,496
Less: Expenditures reducing opening liabilities 976,424,073 689,216,567
Add:
Changes in estimated remediation costs 817,590,347 738,890,631
New liability for sites not previously recorded 77,490,791 44,537,908
Closing balance 10,036,858,533 10,118,201,468

In addition to expenditures reducing liabilities previously recorded, the government spent another $43,317,392 ($30,289,938 in 2023) in remediation costs on its contaminated sites when these costs became known in the year.

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