Snow and ice is a fact of life in a long, Canadian winter. So are the millions of tonnes of salt that is used to combat it on roads across the country. But there is a cost to all that salt: damage to property, waterways and other parts of the environment and infrastructure – totalling billions of dollars annually.

Patrick White, reporter for The Globe, explains the science behind why Canada is the biggest consumer of road salt in the world and why the same chemical that is necessary for a winter climate is also endangering water systems.

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