New Democrats use their power to ensure workers aren’t left behind in the shift to a net-zero economy

OTTAWA— On Thursday, the federal government finally introduced the Sustainable Jobs Act after months of pressure from the NDP.

New Democrats have used their power to force the government to take actions that ensure workers and communities aren’t left behind in the shift towards a net-zero economy. The NDP says delivering a Sustainable Jobs Act as part of the Confidence and Supply Agreement with the government was a long-over due and necessary step to equip and support workers for the challenges they face.

“There’s no doubt: workers and communities are better off because the NDP is at the table,” said NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. “If we didn’t force the Liberals, they would have been focused on delivering for CEOs and Industry’s interests. We used our power to ensure this legislation serves Canadian workers and the communities where they work and live. The NDP will fight for workers every step of the way.”

Last Spring the Liberal government was slammed by the Environment Commissioner for having no plan to support workers in the shift to a net-zero economy. And Pierre Poilievre is stacking the deck even higher for big-business and big bosses. Last year he proposed cutting workers’ pensions and employment insurance in order to save more than half a billion dollars for CEOs of big corporations. It is clear that with Pierre Poilievre, workers would be left behind.

“This legislation was made possible because New Democrats reached out and worked with energy workers to make sure they had a seat at the table, as well as environmentalists who articulated a clear vision of a transition to a clean energy economy,” said NDP Critic for Sustainable Jobs Charlie Angus. “New Democrats used our role in parliament to force the government to get serious about a sustainable jobs future, for the benefit of workers and communities, instead of Big Oil and their lobbyists.”

New Democrats fought for:

Labour having a strong voice as the government develops the plan and the services to support workers and communities.

One of the co-chairs must come from unionized Labour.

A whole-of-government approach to deliver the services and programs workers need – such as jobs creation, EI reform, pension bridging, training, and more.

A stronger definition of the kind of jobs the government should be creating: good-paying, high-quality jobs that come with security and the power of a union behind them.

More transparency and accountability from government on the progress made and the impacts on workers and their communities.