NDP urges funds for energy transition
Support for Liberal government depends on ‘Just Transition legislation’ for fossil-fuel sector
The federal NDP is pushing the Liberal government to pump significant amounts of money into a “Just Transition” regime for Canada’s fossil-fuel workers, in what one prominent New Democrat sees as a vital part of this year’s deal to prop up Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s administration in exchange for a range of policy action.
Charlie Angus, a long-serving MP from northern Ontario who is the NDP’s critic for natural resources jobs, said Wednesday that the party continues to negotiate with the government on the timing and scope of such a regime. Without specifying a dollar figure, Angus called for a “big financial commitment” akin to the massive package of measures to fight climate change — worth more than $464 billion — that U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law this week.
“This is one of the single biggest issues for us,” Angus told the Star Wednesday.
“The government has to deliver if we’re going to continue working together.”
Angus’s comments are the latest from the NDP that appear to put pressure on the Liberal government to follow through on the policy promises contained in the parties’ agreement inked in March, in which the NDP pledged to support the government on confidence votes in exchange for policy actions.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh told the Star this month that the deal will die if the government fails to create a program to provide dental care to children from lower-income families without existing coverage by the end of the year, as outlined in the deal.
Singh also said his party needs to see the government increase housing benefits to low-income Canadians if the deal is to survive into 2023.
The deal also includes a vague pledge to move “forward with Just Transition legislation” — something the Liberals have promised since the federal election in 2019 but not yet delivered.
In April, the federal environment commissioner slammed the government for its failure to act, concluding in a report that it had so far failed to support Canada’s roughly 170,000 fossil-fuel workers as countries around the world pledge to shift away from energy that fills the atmosphere with greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.
For Angus, the issue is the most pressing facing the current Parliament. He said unions in Alberta that represent fossil-fuel workers have invited him to meet next week to discuss their desire for government support in this energy transition. He also said he is pushing the government to ensure any new funding for clean energy and infrastructure projects is tied to the creation of good-paying jobs.
“I have enormous respect for (Natural Resources Minister Jonathan) Wilkinson, and I think they are sincere, but we’re feeling the time is ticking on what can be done in this Parliament,” Angus said. “And we’re certainly feeling that from labour, that they are not buying the rosy talk about ‘Just Transition.’ They want to know, what does this actually look like for us and our families?”
In a written statement to the Star on Wednesday, Wilkinson’s press secretary Keean Nembhard did not provide a timeline for the promised legislation, but said the government remains committed to “building a clean economy and ensuring a just transition” that creates jobs across the country.
A senior government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, characterized the ongoing talks with the NDP as “surprisingly collaborative and productive.”
The official said the vision for a “Just Transition” regime already extends beyond the promised law and a pledge to create a new “clean jobs training centre,” but will also include a “broader plan” across the government to support workers in the green energy shift. Wilkinson’s mandate letter from Trudeau calls for legislation “and comprehensive action” on “Just Transition.”
The Liberals have also promised to spend $2 billion on a “futures fund” for workers in provinces with significant numbers of fossil-fuel jobs, while Nembhard’s statement noted the government has pledged billions already to “support a just transition to a clean economy.” He cited $35 billion earmarked for new infrastructure projects, $1.5 billion for clean fuels, and $8 billion for large projects that help heavy industry reduce emissions and promote clean technology.
Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, said talks with labour groups from oilproducing provinces like his, as well as industry groups, have also been ongoing since the Liberals returned to power in last year’s federal election.
Calling the talks “very constructive,” McGowan said the government’s “just transition” regime must go beyond programs to retrain workers to become a major industrial strategy to support workers and create jobs during the “paradigm shift” to a green energy economy.
“Like it or not, change is coming,” McGowan said. “The world has started that process of moving away from fossil fuels, and we can’t sugar-coat it.”