Canada is extremely well positioned to take advantage of the economic opportunities presented by the global race to net zero. It's up to us as a country to make the smartest possible choices to ensure prosperity for Canadians and a healthy planet for future generations.
For seven years, the Government of Canada has been working on strategies, investing and improving regulations to help Canada become the clean energy and technology supplier of choice in a net-zero world. This plan features partnership with provinces and territories, including via the Regional Energy and Resource Tables. It also includes the February 2023 release of the Interim Sustainable Jobs Plan, which spoke to the work to be done to seize the economic opportunities that will be enabled through a move to a low-carbon future.
Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, advanced one of the 10 key action areas outlined in the plan by introducing a bill entitled "An Act respecting accountability, transparency and engagement to support the creation of sustainable jobs for workers and economic growth in a net-zero economy" (Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act).
The Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act includes several measures, all of which were outlined in the Interim Sustainable Jobs Plan earlier this year. The legislation will put workers and communities at the centre of policy and decision-making by establishing a federal framework for accountability, a governance structure and engagement mechanisms - all guided by the principles of equity, fairness and inclusion. These include:
creating a Sustainable Jobs Partnership Council to provide the government, through a process of ongoing social dialogue and engagement, with independent advice on the most effective measures to encourage sustainable job creation and to support workers and communities in the economy they are building for the future;
publishing a Sustainable Jobs Action Plan every five years, beginning in 2025, to put in place measures to invest in the net-zero emissions economy and skills of the future; and,
establishing a Sustainable Jobs Secretariat to enable policy and program coherence across federal entities on the government's sustainable jobs approach, and to support the Partnership Council.
The Act will hold future governments to account with respect to supporting Canada's workers in a strong Canadian economy for generations to come. Similar to the Net-Zero Accountability Act, it will put into place structures, guidelines and accountability mechanisms to help Canadians judge the performance of this and future governments in this space.
Both the Interim Plan and the new legislation have been informed by more than two years of consultations and conversations with provinces and territories, Indigenous Peoples, workers and unions, industry, environmental and civil society organizations and interested Canadians. The approach builds on over $120 billion in federal investments earmarked since 2016 to build a clean economy, as well as over $1.5 billion in historic investments for skills programming, including sustainable jobs.
The Government of Canada will continue collaboration efforts with key partners and stakeholders, and eventually with the Partnership Council, to develop a 2025 Sustainable Jobs Action Plan and ensure Canadians in every region have access to good, sustainable jobs.
