Just Transition = just more consultants but fewer good jobs!
Friends,
The current government has spent millions – much of it on ‘consultants’ and ‘studies’ to move Canadian workers toward a “just transition” — as pretentious a narrative as I’ve heard. These green jobs are supposed to have higher salaries than those in the oil sector — as long as they are subsidized by various levels of government. All-in, these jobs are not ‘sustainable’ from the sense that they do not stand on their own. I’ve heard so many politicians state, “there will be more jobs, and they will pay more than the jobs they displace”. As much as one has to ask those people if they’ve seriously thought about that statement, quick analysis would indicate that the costs of everything are going up; that means the production of energy is going to become much more expensive.
I will continue to advocate for an effective environmental plan that balances both emissions reductions and clean natural resource development.
And my study of the government’s performance in this realm has shown that the programs they’ve delivered on ‘just transition’ for coal workers have accomplished nothing for workers but put taxpayer funds in the hands of consultants. The Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development has stated “the government is not prepared to provide appropriate support to more than 50 communities and 170,000 workers in the fossil fuels sector.”
Future demand for decades
Despite popular literature, oil and gas will be in demand for decades to come. In addition to being a very efficient source of energy, over 6,000 everyday products are made from the petrochemicals that are derived from oil and gas. These include cell phones, aspirin, clothing, bandages, and eyeglasses. Canada’s natural resource sector supplies the most transparent, environmentally, and advanced energy solutions. The world looks to Canada for the solutions we are providing in making oil and gas production more environmentally friendly, and over 80% of the world’s energy still comes from fossil fuel sources. Since the demand is not going away, Canada should be the world’s leading exporter of oil and gas.
I will continue to advocate for an effective environmental plan that balances both emissions reductions and clean natural resource development. Some of these solutions include:
- Support for Carbon Capture, Utilize and Storage (CCUS) technologies, which is currently active in Alberta.
- Displacing oil supply – including new developments – from authoritarian regimes and less environmentally responsible and transparent jurisdictions.
- Advancing Canadian cleaner energy projects — to replace coal burning in many countries. Replacing a coal plant with Canada’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) reduces emissions by 50% immediately.
Thanks to the current government constraints, only one LNG proposal is under construction. The world does not have access to our LNG because of the hurdles presented by this government. This needs to change.
Please contact me at Greg.McLean@parl.gc.ca or by phone at 403-244-1880 and keep up to date on my work in Parliament on my website, GregMcLeanMP.ca.
Sincerely,
Greg McLean
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