The ‘Just Transition’ Soviet-Style Plans for Canada’s Oilpatch

Commentary The “just transition” legislation currently before the House of Commons Natural Resources committee mentions unions a fair bit. It also mentions what are effectively five-year plans, which was a common practice for moulding the economies of the Soviet Union and China during their darkest years. However, outside of big-inch pipeline construction, refining, and the oilsands, there simply aren’t that many unionized companies in the oilpatch, at least in Saskatchewan. That is, next to none in the Land of Living Skies. The legislation in question is Bill C-50, the Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act. The act is meant to assist workers in what the federal government had previously referred to as a “just transition” away from fossil fuels-related jobs towards more “sustainable jobs.” It will create a “Sustainable Jobs Partnership Council” to draft five-year plans to do just that....