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The planned decontamination of the Memorial to the Victims of Communism site could threaten the health of as many as 100 children at the House of Commons Day Care Centre, says Ottawa-Vanier MP Mauril Bélanger.

The children, whose parents work at the House of Commons, have been using a fenced-in area on the Supreme Court’s front lawn as their temporary playground since early July while Public Works completes a new playground just east of the Justice Building.

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The temporary playground is directly beside the controversial memorial site on Wellington Street.

The National Capital Commission‘s board of directors approved the decontamination of the site on June 25. Contaminated soil to a depth of about 3.4 metres will be removed right down to the bedrock and replaced by clean material.

The work hasn’t begun yet, but Bélanger fears the consequences for the children if it does.

“If they start the decontamination and you get a windy day,” the Liberal MP said Thursday, “the dust could be flying into the kids’ faces.”