Transport Canada awarded $17.6 million in a contract to restore the environmental health of Laurel Point, in the inner harbour by removing persistent contaminants.
Between 1906 and 1975, Laurel Point Park was the site of an industrial paint factory which left contaminants in the soil, posing a threat to marine life. The Laurel Point Park cleanup is the final phase of Transport Canada's comprehensive Middle Harbour Remediation Project to preserve the harbour and revitalize the marine ecosystem.
Workers will dig up 35,000 cubic metres of contaminated soil and back fill the area with clean soil, then re-turf the park. The first phase successfully remediated contaminated underwater sediments in Victoria Harbour. Work on the final phase will begin next month and is expected to end by late next year.