Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to recognize that Thursday, April 26 will mark the 15th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.
Early that morning an explosion occurred in Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The release of radiation was almost a million times greater than the release at Three Mile Island. As a result of this accident, 125,000 people have died, 70,000 people have become disabled and tens of thousands of hectares of once fertile land are now barren.
In compliance with the memorandum of understanding that was signed in Ottawa in 1995, the Chernobyl facility was closed on December 15, 2000. In return, the signing countries provided much needed financial and technical support to the government of Ukraine. Canada's contribution of $50 million was used to fund the shelter implementation plan.
I know that the Canadian government will continue to support the recovery of the Chernobyl area and I ask that hon. members and all Canadians take a moment to remember all those affected by this disaster.