Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley wants the federal government to abandon so-called “just transition” legislation it plans to bring to the House of Commons this spring.
The legislation is expected to lay out Ottawa’s plan to retrain workers to move into green or renewable energy jobs so they aren’t left behind as the world moves away from oil and gas.
But Premier Daniel Smith cited the plan as evidence that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau plans to kill Alberta’s oil and gas industry and eliminate tens of thousands of jobs.
At an unrelated news conference Wednesday, Notley repeated comments first published in a Calgary Herald column the previous day. She accused Smith and her government of incompetence for not knowing more about what was in the bill.
Notley also accused Ottawa of failing to consult with Albertans and releasing the proposed legislation several months before the provincial election.
“Just take it … and generally get rid of it,” Notley said.
Debate over the proposed bill has escalated after talking points prepared for federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson’s transition to a low-carbon economy emerged last week.
Smith relied on one page of the 81-page document that discusses the amount of training workers in certain sectors need to transition to green or renewable energy jobs. She and her cabinet ministers said the number of jobs quoted on that page showed how many would be lost.
The federal government says this is the number of jobs in each sector that could be affected by the transition to a low-carbon economy. Liberal cabinet minister and Edmonton Center MP Randy Boisson said the just transition plan would create jobs, not eliminate them.
Last week, Notley said the federal government needs to increase investment in energy projects that reduce emissions, such as carbon capture, use and storage and hydrogen technology, to move oil and gas workers into those jobs.
“We have to end it”
Notley’s call for Ottawa to drop the bill entirely is new.
Asked if she thought the move would alienate her base, which supports divesting from oil and gas production to stop climate change, the NDP leader said she wasn’t sure.
“Maybe, maybe not,” she replied. – I’m not sure. It’s hard to say.
Now that Notley has publicly refuted the bill, Smith suggested in a video posted to social media Wednesday that the NDP leader isn’t going far enough.
“Rachel Notley made a comment that the Prime Minister and Jagmeet Singh should put the brakes on this,” Smith said. “Well, that’s clearly the wrong approach. We don’t need to stop this. We have to end it.
“And as a member of the NDP party, she should demand that her NDP leader, Jagmeet Singh, end the just transition plan forever.”
The next provincial election is at the end of May and polls show the NDP neck and neck with the United Conservative Party.
The ruling UCP is eager to discredit Notley by trying to link her to Trudeau and Singh, who are unpopular in Alberta.
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