Over 2.7 Million Canadian Workers to Face ‘Significant’ Disruptions in Sectors Impacted by Future Climate Change Programs: Report

Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on April 8, 2022. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Over 2.7 million Canadian workers will face “significant” job disruptions in sectors that will be affected by the future federal climate change programs, says a memo previously sent to Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson.

“The transition to a low carbon economy will have an uneven impact across sectors, occupations and regions and create significant labour market disruptions,” reads the federal briefing note titled “Key Messages On Just Transition” and sent to the minister on June 1, 2022. The document was obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter.

The memo referred to five sectors where it said “we expect that larger scale transformation will take place.” The biggest sectors are the building sector, which employs about 1.4 million workers; and transportation, which has about 642,000 workers, representing 7 percent and 3 percent of Canada’s employment respectively. These were followed by the agriculture sector, 292,00o workers; energy, 202,000 workers; and manufacturing, 193,000 workers.

Wilkinson said in early January 2023 that the federal government will be looking to move forward with its “just transition” legislation this year, which is intended to help workers in Canada’s oil and gas sector move into green energy jobs.

Wilkinson said the transition between sectors will create more jobs.

Meanwhile, the memo said, “Skills requirements for ‘green jobs’ will vary, necessitating innovative, agile, and nimble training approaches.” It said some green energy sector jobs, such as being an “environmental impact assessor,” will require “extensive green skills or knowledge”—implying greater difficulty in making a move to such jobs from oil and gas work.

Other jobs will require only “some green skills,” such as being a sales representative for green air conditioning units, said the memo, while other jobs will require no green skills at all.

“Some green jobs will not require workers with green skills to perform their jobs, i.e. janitor or driver working for a solar energy company,” the memo said.

Jobs At Risk

The memo also posed a question asking how many workers in the oil and gas sector would lose their jobs as a result of “the Government of Canada’s climate change actions.”

“The answer to this question depends,” read the answer, adding that not “every job that exists in today’s economy has a perfect twin in a net zero economy.”

“It’s not to say the transition will not be accompanied by change and uncertainty for some workers and communities where the labour force requirements of the future will differ from those of today.”

The memo came about two months after Environment Commissioner Jerry DeMarco wrote in an April 2022 audit report that the federal government is “unprepared and slow off the mark” in providing support to oil and gas workers in the transition to low-carbon jobs without putting many out of work.

“The audit found that there was no federal implementation plan, formal governance structure, or monitoring and reporting system in place to support a just transition and that supporting legislation has been delayed,” said DeMarco’s report.

Wilkinson said on Dec. 1, 2022, that he had read DeMarco’s report and that the federal government is working on the legislation and would “bring forward an updated plan early next year.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said on Jan. 10 that the proposed federal “just transition” legislation is a “big threat” to Alberta’s oil and gas sector.

“When I hear the words ‘just transition,’ it signals eliminating jobs,” she said.

The premier had earlier in the month said Alberta will focus on growing its low-carbon economy and technology while maintaining its oil and gas sector.

Marnie Cathcart contributed to this report.