Canada’s new legislation to align job creation with its climate goals while ensuring a fair transition for workers in emissions-intensive industries has elicited cautious optimism from Indigenous, labour, and environmental groups who agreed that even with “clear gaps”, it was a commendable first step.
But in Alberta—where oil and gas has for decades driven employment, government revenue, and economic growth—Premier Danielle Smith “stood her ground” in opposition to Ottawa’s newly-tabled Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act, Bill C-50, shortly after it was announced on June 15, reported Calgary Herald.
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“Alberta will not recognize, co-operate with, or enforce any attempt to phase out our province’s oil and gas industry or its work force,” said Smith in a statement. “This is non-negotiable.”
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson responded to fears that the Act will put oil and gas jobs at risk, saying the plan relies on creating new opportunities for workers—including in critical minerals, biofuels, and hydrogen—and “ensuring the relevance” of Canada’s conventional energy reserves. He maintained the language in the Act aligns with what Smith has previously supported, reported the National Post.
But key details were missing from Wilkinson’s proposal, said Charles St-Arnaud, chief economist for Alberta Central. “The problem and the question I have is, ‘How is it gonna look in practice?’”
Important questions remain, St-Arnaud added, like how to sustain current livelihoods with similar high-paying careers for oil and gas workers, and how older workers can make the transition to the new economy across different regions. Arguing that oil production will need to remain at current levels for another 10 to 20 years [a notion that is seriously at odds with analysis from the International Energy Agency and others—Ed.], he warned that Alberta could fall behind other jurisdictions when it comes to securing critical green energy projects, even though the province is currently a national leader in solar and wind development.
Meanwhile, oil and gas industry executives say the Act addresses medium- and long-term labour issues in the energy sector, but misses the short-term problem of worker shortages as potential employees vote with their feet and the industry struggles with recruitment.
Cautious Optimism
By unveiling the new Act, the Liberal government met its 2019 promise to introduce legislation that “supports workers and communities while unlocking economic opportunities.”
Ottawa says the Act “will put workers and communities at the centre of policy and decision-making by establishing a federal framework for accountability, a governance structure, and engagement mechanisms—all guided by the principles of equity, fairness and inclusion.”
Aiming to create opportunities for “good, middle-class jobs across Canada,” the Act introduces a Sustainable Jobs Partnership Council to provide the government with independent advice on sustainable job creation. It mandates a Sustainable Jobs Action Plan every five years beginning in 2025, and establishes a Sustainable Jobs Secretariat to support implementation and coordinate work across federal departments.
The proposal was well-received by advocacy groups, many of which had been working on the file for years, but with a strong consensus that a lot was left out.
“This legislation sets out to advance the creation of sustainable jobs while also leaving some clear gaps that must be addressed through amendments in order to better support workers and communities through the energy transition,” said the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).
IISD was one among several groups arguing that the Act lacked “specific principles and mechanisms to support Indigenous Peoples as equal partners at all levels of planning and decision making.”
The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN), the Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN), and Ecojustice Canada also pointed this out in a joint statement calling for amendments “that will centre Indigenous Peoples as leaders in the transition to a sustainable, net-zero economy.”
“ACFN, MCFN, and Indigenous Peoples across Turtle Island (Canada) are disproportionately affected by climate change,” the statement added. “They are not just directly affected workers and communities; they also have Inherent, Treaty and constitutionally protected rights.”
The two communities noted that Indigenous lands have been disproportionately marred by resource extraction without benefit sharing, and that reconciliation means addressing this disparity and ensuring that Indigenous people “have a central role in deciding how the transition occurs.”
Pitfalls to Avoid
Environmental Defence Canada likewise called out the lack of mechanisms for ensuring Indigenous sovereignty over communities’ economic diversification plans, adding that the proposal fails to internalize the urgency of the climate crisis.
“We are encouraged by the proposed sustainable jobs legislation,” Environmental Defence wrote. “With this Act, the federal government is making a credible commitment to include affected workers and communities in the preparation for the energy transition.”
But the organization also cautioned that the legislation must be strengthened to “avoid dangerous pitfalls such as greenwashing, ignoring obligations towards Indigenous peoples, and taking a one-size-fits-all approach to the transition.”
The Pembina Institute called for federal, provincial, and territorial governments coordination to “meaningfully adopt the principles of this Act across all policy areas.” The Institute urged “tripartite discussions with sub-national governments, unions and labour, and employers to advance measures and funding for regional economic development, as well as implementing effective and accessible work force training, development, and social security programs to support workers through the energy transition.”
IISD agreed details were missing on “support programs for workers facing job loss or transition, such as expanded employment insurance, pension bridging, and relocation supports.”
Clean Energy Canada called the proposal “a thoughtful framework” that “cannot stand on its own” without closer attention to the urgency of the climate crisis. The group said industry representatives from hard-to-abate sectors must be among the final 15 members of the Sustainable Jobs Partnership Council, along with Indigenous representation and policy expertise from the academic and think tank community.
The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) said the Act was a “reason for workers to celebrate.” To help realize the commitments in the proposal, the CLC said it will continue to push Canada to meet its international commitments for a just transition off fossil fuels with investments to support “those whose work is affected by climate change”. It called for investments to create new jobs, training initiatives, upskilling and reskilling, skills recognition, and essential measures like mental health support, family support, and pension bridging.
Lana Payne, national president of Canada’s largest general trade union, Unifor, called the proposal “the latest milestone in ongoing efforts to protect workers as the economy transitions to net-zero.” But Unifor urged the government to address key gaps in the plan, including the need for funding commitments to address transitions, and for concrete processes to preserve unionized jobs.
“While the legislation discusses good jobs, Unifor will need to fight for an Action Plan that articulates how goals will translate into results,” Unifor said.
Alberta Stands Opposed
Alberta’s Smith, who has long criticized the federal government’s just transition plans, asserted the province’s constitutional rights on resource development in her statement. She also called attention to Alberta’s own emissions and energy plan, which sets an aspirational goal but no discernable targets to create a carbon-neutral economy by 2050 by investing in deeply questionable emissions reduction technologies and the increasingly faint hope of a long-term market for LNG exports.
“To be clear, if this new advisory council provides the federal government with recommendations that are inconsistent with Alberta’s Emissions Reduction and Energy Development Plan or otherwise interferes with our province’s constitutional jurisdiction over the development of our natural resources and regulation of our energy work force, Alberta will not recognize the legitimacy of those recommendations in any manner,” Smith said.
But Wilkinson said he was confident he can convince Smith, and energy workers across Canada, to support the proposal, wrote CBC.
“At the end of the day, it is going to be those that are producing at very low carbon that are going to be winning in the context of the transition,” he said. “I think there are opportunities to work constructively and collaboratively with Premier Smith.”
Smith and Wilkinson are scheduled to meet in Calgary this Monday, and will discuss the proposed Act, CTV reported.
