Plans for defibrillators in Canadian hockey arenas

SASKATOON, Saskatchewan (AP) -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper is going ahead with a plan to put heart defibrillators in hockey arenas across Canada.

Harper was at a rink in Saskatoon on Thursday when he announced details of the four-year initiative that begins with assessing the needs of 3,000 arenas. The actual machines are to start rolling out this spring.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation says up to 40,000 Canadians experience sudden cardiac arrest each year and, on average, only about 5 percent survive. It says defibrillators could potentially save the lives of thousands of adults and children.

Harper promised the $10 million plan in the April 2011 election campaign.