Thank you.
Thank you for inviting me to testify this afternoon. My name is Nicole Dusyk. I'm a senior policy adviser with the International Institute for Sustainable Development.
IISD has extensive experience in researching and advocating for just transitions, both in Canada and abroad. Our most recent report was published just a few months ago. It's called “Making Good Green Jobs the Law: How Canada can build on international best practice to advance just transition for all”. This report and the research that underpins it inform my testimony today.
Like previous speakers, I want to begin by highlighting that Canada has been through difficult labour transitions before. Whether that's the boom and bust in the oil patch or whether it's the collapse of the cod fishery, we do have experience and we understand what is at stake and how important it is to proactively plan and ensure that supports are in place for workers and for communities.
We are on the precipice of another major labour transition. The cost of renewables and battery technologies is dropping. As countries implement ZEV mandates and other climate policies, global demand for oil and gas will drop. We know this. We know the energy transition is under way. We also know that additional climate policy is necessary in order to accelerate that transition.
Ultimately, climate policy and climate action will have net economic, social and environmental benefits for Canadians, but we also know that it will disproportionately impact specific communities and specific workers, so it's very important that we plan proactively and start addressing that and thinking about that right now.
With this in mind, I wanted to thank the committee for undertaking this study. This is important work, and I look forward to what I hope are robust recommendations in terms of how we can ensure that no Canadians are left behind on the inevitable energy transition.
I'd like to make four general recommendations.
First, for a just transition, getting the process right is essential. Good outcomes for Canadian workers will emerge from good, inclusive processes. More specifically, processes should be grounded in what the International Labour Organization calls “social dialogue” and a tripartite process that brings together workers, employers and governments, including indigenous governments, to jointly develop and implement solutions.
We recommend that in Canada, just transition processes be based on a tripartite-plus process. That brings together the core actors, the three core actors or core parties. The “plus” is also inclusive and includes engagement with other stakeholders, such as communities and civil society organizations.
My second recommendation is that planning should include a broad and just transition strategy, of which legislation is just one part. Complementary measures will also be needed, including green industrial policy, labour market planning and strengthening of social protection.
Third, it is important to name the transition for what it is: It is a transition away from a fossil-fuel-based economy towards a clean energy economy. To understand the scope and the impacts and to implement effective programs and supports, we do need to understand and be clear about which industries have declining job prospects and which industries will drive future job growth.
To this end, it is imperative that the government move forward with its commitment to develop energy scenarios that are based upon a world where global warming is limited to 1.5°C. These kinds of scenarios will be really important for developing a shared understanding of our end goal—where we're going—and also will provide needed analysis that can help with the planning.
Finally, just transition funding should be proactive. It should be flexible, nationally coordinated and supportive of local decision-making. It also needs to be high enough to address the immense challenge that is ahead. Funding processes must uphold indigenous rights and authority, and they should be articulated through the tripartite-plus process, wherein all affected parties work together to set funding priorities and establish funding needs. Substantial public funding will be required, but at the same time, the federal government must ensure that financing for a low-carbon transition includes the private sector.
It also must ensure that corporate accountability is maintained and upholds the “polluter pays” principle, and at the same time minimizes public financial liability.
In conclusion, we also have some specific recommendations for just transition legislation in terms of what should be included within that legislation. I will leave that for the question-and-answer period, if any members are interested.
Thank you.