Energy transition jobs plan aims to sustain and create jobs, not kill them: feds
The Liberal government's long-promised plan to transition Canada's labour force to respond to climate change says a clean energy economy will not prompt massive unemployment in the country's energy towns.
It says if Canada plays its cards right, the clean energy economy will create so many jobs there may not be enough workers to fill them. But some of it will require the traditional oil and gas sectors to 鈥渁ggressively鈥 lower the greenhouse gas emissions produced as the fuels are extracted.
鈥淎ccording to numerous studies, rather than a shortage of jobs, in Canada we are much more likely to see an abundance of sustainable jobs with a shortage of workers required to fill them,鈥
The 32-page "Sustainable Jobs Plan" comes more than three years after the federal Liberals promised a road map that will protect jobs as Canada adjusts from a combustion-energy powerhouse to a clean-energy economy.
While lacking many specifics, it outlines in broad terms the ways the federal government will help maintain and create energy jobs, as well as transfer workers to net-zero jobs as needed. It includes a new government office to oversee the process, training programs, Indigenous consultation and inclusion and better data to fully understand the jobs that exist now and that could exist in the future.
The promise of job creation mirrors comments made in January by the Pathways Alliance, a consortium of six oilsands companies working to find ways to curb their production emissions, including through large-scale carbon capture and storage systems.
In a roundtable interview with The Canadian Press on Jan. 16, Cenovus CEO Alex Pourbaix said the industry's investments to decarbonize production will "create a boom in the oil-producing provinces that is equivalent to what happened in the '80s and the '90s." Pathways estimates that will create 35,000 new jobs.
The report's name alone, however, signals the political quicksand it lands on, after accusations from Alberta in recent weeks that the federal government intends to impose a "just transition" plan on the province that will wipe out the energy sector entirely.
While the term "just transition" is the international standard used to describe ensuring the protection of workers during economic changes, critics including Alberta Premier Danielle Smith seized on it as evidence the Liberals plan to shut down her province's energy industry.
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson has said for months he prefers the term "sustainable jobs" because it is more accurate.
Smith has appeared more open to the notion of a "sustainable jobs" strategy but her skepticism at the Liberals' intentions remains high.
Just one day before the plan was released, Smith wrote again to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asking him to put the whole thing on ice because it poses "an unconstitutional and existential threat to the Alberta economy and the jobs of hundreds of thousands of Albertans."
Trudeau and Smith met Feb. 7 in Ottawa, where they discussed ways to co-operate on clean energy, including Alberta's willingness to provide more government aid for oil producers to install carbon capture and storage systems.
But she said in her letter Thursday that scrapping the jobs transition plan was a "non-negotiable condition" of Alberta doing that.
In a statement Friday, Smith said she would contact Ottawa soon to discuss issues she has with the rebranded plan, including its failure to recognize Alberta's right to develop its own natural resources and manage its workforce.
"Implementing a federal plan of this magnitude in areas of exclusive provincial jurisdiction doesn鈥檛 merely require piecemeal 'discussions' with the provinces, it requires outright provincial approval and co-operation," Smith said.
Friday's report goes out of its way to try and debunk accusations the clean energy economy is an attempt to phase out Canada's oil and gas industry completely.
It says global demand for oil will be down 75 per cent by 2050, and demand for gas about half of what it is today. But it says oil and gas will be needed for non-combustion uses, including in plastics, solvents, lubricants and waxes.
Canada can still have a vibrant, if smaller, oil and gas industry by 2050 but only with effort to make production-related emissions "ultralow."
"It is in this context that aggressively lowering emissions from the production of fossil fuels, in line with Canada鈥檚 climate commitments, is both a competitive advantage and a source of sustainable jobs," the report said.
It also said while many people will need training for the jobs emerging in clean energy and battery production, some jobs in the oilpatch already come with the skills needed for things like hydrogen production and biofuel development.
Adam Legge, president of the Business Council of Alberta, said he would "cautiously read (the plan) as an opportunity." Instead of suggesting Alberta will be left out of the economy of the future, he believes Alberta can capitalize on its wealth of natural resources while also decarbonizing.
"From what our read is, the (federal) definition of sustainable jobs is wide-ranging," he said. "It doesn鈥檛 look to exclude jobs in areas like (carbon capture and storage) or emissions reduction technology that would be deployed in industries like the oil and gas sector or the agriculture sector."
However, Legge said to be successful, the federal government will have to work with the provinces to hammer out a wide-ranging industrial strategy and keep up with the incentives for clean energy technologies offered by the United States.
"You鈥檝e got to create the economic base for the jobs to happen, versus trying to skill and train people first and then hoping that the jobs and industries emerge," he said.
鈥 With files from Amanda Stephenson in Calgary
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2023.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government鈥檚 three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party鈥檚 popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn鈥檛 be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been 'randomly targeted.'
NDP house leader laments 'agents of chaos' in precarious Parliament
NDP House leader Peter Julian says there's more his party wants to do in Parliament before the next election, but if the current dysfunction continues it will become a factor in how they vote on a confidence measure.
Former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters sentenced to 9 years for voting data scheme
A judge ripped into a Colorado county clerk for her crimes and lies before sentencing her Thursday to nine years behind bars for a data-breach scheme spawned from the rampant false claims about voting machine fraud in the 2020 presidential race.
A northeastern Ontario jury has started deliberating in Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial, we can now tell you what they weren't allowed to hear.
A teen charged with the murder of another teen on Prince Edward Island last year has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.
At least two people are dead and others are injured after a fire ripped through a century-old building in Old Montreal early Friday morning, sources told Noovo Info.
A French judge in a shocking rape case allows the public to see some of the video evidence
A French judge in the trial of dozens of men accused of raping an unconscious woman whose now former husband had repeatedly drugged her so that he and others could assault her decided on Friday to allow the public to see some of the video recordings of the alleged rapes.
Scientists looked at images from space to see how fast Antarctica is turning green. Here's what they found
Parts of icy Antarctica are turning green with plant life at an alarming rate as the region is gripped by extreme heat events, according to new research, sparking concerns about the changing landscape on this vast continent.
Canadian family stuck in Lebanon anxiously awaits flight options amid Israeli strikes
A Canadian man who is trapped in Lebanon with his family says they are anxiously waiting for seats on a flight out of the country, as a barrage of Israeli airstrikes continues.
Local Spotlight
Chantal Kreviazuk is set to return to Winnipeg to mark a major milestone in her illustrious musical career.
From the beaches of Cannes to the bustling streets of New York City, a new film by a trio of Manitoba directors has toured the international film festival circuit to much pomp and circumstance.
A husband and wife have been on the road trip of a lifetime and have decided to stop in Saskatchewan for the winter.
The grave of a previously unknown Canadian soldier has been identified as a man from Hayfield, Man. who fought in the First World War.
A group of classic car enthusiasts donated hundreds of blankets to nursing homes in Nova Scotia.
Moving into the second week of October, the eastern half of Canada can expect some brisker fall air to break down from the north
What does New Westminster's t蓹m蓹sew虛tx史 Aquatic and Community Centre have in common with a historic 68,000-seat stadium in Beijing, an NFL stadium and the aquatics venue for the Paris Olympics? They've all been named among the world's most beautiful sports venues for 2024.
The last living member of the legendary Vancouver Asahi baseball team, Kaye Kaminishi, died on Saturday, Sept. 28, surrounded by family. He was 102 years old.
New data from Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley shows a surge in supply and drop in demand in the region's historically hot real estate market.