Author of the article:
Don Braid • Calgary Herald
Date of publication:
Apr 27, 2022 • 46 minutes ago • 3 minutes reading • 9 comments ARCHIVE PHOTO: Coal Transport Equipment at Keephills 3 New Power Plant in Wabamun, West Edmonton, Alberta on August 24, 2011. Bruce Edwards / Edmonton Journal
Content of the article
Ottawa’s promised “fair transition” to a new low-carbon economy is now being exposed as a useless scam.
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The miners in Alberta and Saskatchewan have been facing a transition for several years. But the federals have done nothing to help them and have no work plan to start despite the many promises. This is the conclusion of the federal auditor general, who finds that bureaucrats were sitting on their fat portfolios even when the coal workers lost their jobs. Coal mining is the canary itself on a dangerous mine shaft. There are only about 331 miners left in Alberta, up from more than 1,100 in 2017. If Ottawa can not manage the transition for this group, how will it deal with the thousands who are expected to leave oil and gas, as well as agriculture and even forestry, because of federal emissions policy? Alberta may look like Newfoundland and Labrador after the cod fishery closure in 1992-93.
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Auditor General Karen Hogan raised this issue in her coal report for a reason. It is a terrifying example of the pain that federal incompetence can cause to citizens. About 37,000 people in Newfoundland and Labrador – 15 percent of the county workforce – lost their jobs after fishing closed. But Ottawa had no idea of the impending catastrophe. “We found that the government was unprepared to deal with the consequences of the moratorium,” he said. There was a problem with targeting aid payments, there were no clear legislative principles and policy compromises resulting from a lack of understanding. The result was disaster. By 2000, the province’s population had shrunk by 10 percent. Federal understanding seems just as vague today. Instead of expanding a coherent plan for coal workers, Hogan notes, bureaucrats and politicians have done nothing more than deal with job insurance.
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“In our view, this represents a significant missed opportunity, as phasing out carbon is the first of many transitions to a low-carbon economy for Canadian workers, communities and governments,” he said. FILE PHOTO: Auditor General Karen Hogan appears during a press conference following the filing in Ottawa on Thursday, March 25, 2021. Photo by Canadian Press Wrap cod fishing with charcoal and we will have a hint of the damage that this government of high dreams and low achievement could visit in Alberta, Saskatchewan, northern BC. and, of course, the New Earth. One excuse for carbon failure is supposed to be the appearance of COVID-19. But many Canadians without federal pay or pensions have been able to work productively on all of this. Why not the national government? The Auditor General says: “We conclude that Natural Resources Canada, in partnership with Employment and Social Development Canada and partners on behalf of the federal government, was unwilling to support employees and their communities in a fair transition to a low-emission economy. coal.
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“Although new legislation was planned for 2021, there was no federal implementation plan, formal governance structure or monitoring and reporting system.” There were committees and investigations, of course. Former Alberta Cabinet Secretary Robin Campbell, now president of the Canadian Coal Association, found those he met completely ignorant. “There was no one there who knew anything about coal mining or coal production,” he says. “No one understood the finances of the communities affected by it.” The politician at the top of this pile is Natural Resources Secretary Jonathan Wilkinson. The Minister of Natural Resources of Canada Jonathan Wilkinson. Photo from REUTERS / Blair Gable / File Photo He was at work in February when Ottawa formally rejected the Energie Saguenay LNG project in Quebec. It had already been rejected by Quebec, but Ottawa had to rally only to show this particular zeal.
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Saguenay would have shipped huge volumes of gas to Europe. The following month, Russia attacked Ukraine, threatening supplies. Wilkinson was quick to reassure everyone that heroic Canada would produce more oil and gas for Europe. The Liberals, with the NDP in the lead, are piloting a huge change in the shape of Canada’s economy. They promise programs and help of equal scale. But when there is real work to be done, they disappear. This is how we are governed, with unfortunate hypocrisy. Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Herald. Twitter: @DonBraid Facebook: Don Braid Politics More news, fewer ads, faster upload time: Get unlimited, ad-lite access to the Calgary Herald, Calgary Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites for just $ 14 / month or $ 140 / year. Register now through Calgary Herald the Calgary Sun..
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