The fact that the Liberals are introducing legislation to compel the federal government to create and protect jobs is in itself an acknowledgment that the transition to a “clean energy” economy is already underway, the minister said Thursday. of Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson.
It’s not about “shut down” Canada’s oil and gas industry, he insisted. “I can say that without question,” said Mr. Wilkinson in an interview, after tabling his “Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act” bill in the House.
Minister Wilkinson said there is room in Canada for both of these economies, but the fossil fuel sector will only survive if it invests heavily in technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from extraction and refining of oil and gas.
This search for technologies and these new methods will alone create new employment opportunities, which will require training and change, he argued.
Combined with the coming explosion of renewable energy, increased demand for electricity and the desire to modernize buildings, job opportunities are enormous, according to the Minister of Natural Resources.
The Liberal government says a clean energy economy could create up to 400,000 new jobs by the end of this decade alone in Canada.
A review every five years
The new bill aims to establish certain requirements for the federal government to ensure that Canada has a workforce ready to seize these opportunities.
The bill is heavily bureaucratic. The government must release an updated plan every five years on what Ottawa is doing to create and protect jobs in the energy sector, report on progress, and create an advisory body that would ensure that plans involve the participation of all parties concerned, including workers and industry.
The specific measures the government will take on jobs are not contained in the bill.
Some general ideas for these measures are in an interim plan for sustainable jobs that the government released in February, including the promise of new funding for skills development, to support a plan for sustainable jobs.
Minister Wilkinson also said Thursday that the plan will support the implementation of the more than $80 billion in tax credits and investments in clean energy projects that the federal government has included in its 2023 budget.
More details are unlikely to be released until 2025, when the first plan under the bill is expected.
“Being able to seize opportunities”
Federal Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan said the most important thing Canadians need to remember is that the bill would ensure workers are at the table in any conversation about their future. And that future, he said, will be about clean energy.
“This green industrial revolution that we talk about in theory is a reality,” he said. It is happening. The race is on. Right now companies are trying to decide where to invest and where to build.
“So today, we are organizing so that Canadian workers are ready to seize these opportunities, so that we can build […] hydrogen plants and renewable energy industries that the world wants and wants to build here in Canada. These jobs are on the table and they are good jobs. »
But this bill has been a real political football for months now between the Liberals in Ottawa and the Conservative government in Alberta. Premier Danielle Smith demanded in February that the bill be scrapped.
She called it an “unconstitutional and existential threat to Alberta’s economy and the jobs of hundreds of thousands of Albertans,” and she said its abandonment was a “non-negotiable condition” for Alberta to invest more in the capture and storage of carbon emitted by production in the oil sands.
Minister Wilkinson said he would meet with Mr.me Smith in Calgary next Monday, and that the bill should be at the heart of their conversation.
The NDP and the unions in the game
The bill was a key part of the “support and confidence agreement” the Liberals reached with the New Democrats in March 2022, and the NDP was part of the team that crafted the legislation during the last year.
NDP MP Charlie Angus said the bill goes further than what was in place before, but still needs some tweaks to be clearer on what an ‘advisory council’ will look like and its responsibilities .
The bill also enjoys broad union support, with representatives from Unifor, the Canadian Labor Congress, the International Union of Operating Engineers and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers all joined Ministers Wilkinson and O’Regan for the announcement on Thursday.
“It is evident that thought and consideration have gone into crafting this bill, as we requested,” said Gavin McGarrigle, Western Regional Director at Unifor.
“We’re excited to see the creation of a Sustainable Jobs Partnership Council to hear from those who have the most at stake. Worker participation will be critical to the council’s success, and Unifor expects to have a place to the table to share the perspectives of our many members. »