Thank you for this excellent question.
I have to say that I'm surprised we're talking so much about producing more energy, whether renewable or nuclear, but so little about energy efficiency and conservation, which we should be talking about more.
Canada ranks first among G20 countries for per capita energy consumption, per capita greenhouse gas emissions, and greenhouse gas emissions from our light-duty vehicles. That means we waste a lot of energy. Before we start producing any new energy, we should focus on wasting less energy and using it more efficiently. That's not to say that we don't need new sources of clean energy, but one thing is clear: We need to stop thinking that we have to keep on producing more. First and foremost, I think we need to waste less.
To answer your question more specifically, I feel it's extremely important to remember that the government has committed to ending fossil fuel subsidies. We hope that happens soon, because we've been hearing about it for many years.
With respect to transportation electrification programs, in addition to the electric vehicle rebate, the government has announced that it will implement net-zero greenhouse gas emissions legislation to persuade people to buy light-, medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles. These vehicles include battery- and hydrogen-powered vehicles.
I started talking to the federal government about transportation electrification in 2006. However, initiatives in this area seem to have been in the works for only two years. In the last two years and past few months in particular, the federal government has announced a number of initiatives for electric vehicle manufacturing as well as battery, cathode and anode plants. So there is still a lot of work to be done.
If we want a just transition, the problem will not be so much creating a transportation electrification industry, because one already exists. In fact, it's even growing exponentially. The problem will be finding workers.
In our view, the problem is we have to ensure we can help current workers and those who are currently studying in high schools, CEGEPs, colleges and universities across Canada to find well-paying jobs. Right now, we're seeing a disconnect of sorts. Workers are losing their jobs in some sectors and can't make the transition to other sectors.
We're discussing the coaching that needs to be done with workers with people from the Unifor union, which is at Electric Mobility Canada.
As we've pointed out, if we want the electric mobility sector to still exist in Canada 10, 15 or 20 years from now, we need to announce that new jobs are being created, but we also need to train workers.
In the announcement in Bécancour just a few weeks ago, they said they need skilled workers. However, you can't just snap your fingers and get trained workers. It has to be planned out with universities, CEGEPs, colleges and high schools.
The federal government's plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions doesn't take the worker training component into account. It's an extremely important aspect that really needs to be emphasized or it will be hard to fill jobs with current workers.
