"The key to Kyoto is "Just Transition"
| The contrast couldn't have been clearer. It was only one day after Ralph Klein arrived to enlist the support of Bay St. (and Ernie Eves) for his offensive to sabotage the Kyoto Accord. Labour Council held its first Environmental Forum on October 29th, with Dale Marshall, Elizabeth May and Jack Layton explaining how we can have Kyoto, clean air, and jobs. Union leaders and environmental activists packed the room to hear the real |
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facts about shifting Canada's economy towards sustainable production. What they heard was an insightful rebuttal of the scaremongering from big oil and Tory politicians. It turns out that Ralph Klein is lying when he pretends there has been little consultation with the provinces. Two years of meetings examined all aspects of implementation, with provinces, industry and the feds |
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- and Alberta co-chaired the main roundtable! Klein's claim to want a solution made in Canada is part of the "Confuse, Delay,
Neutralize" strategy of U.S. president George Bush. In fact there will be more jobs created through "green economics" than by blindly
submitting to demands of big oil. Even in Alberta, the difference in jobs is tiny -far less than employers have wiped out through corporate
restructuring and mergers. |
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Marshall is on a country wide tour for Canada's energy union (CEP), to outline how that union supports Kyoto as long as there is a "Just Transition"
policy. This policy includes a fund to provide for workers who will be displaced while other jobs are being creating through alternative energy
sources. City Councillor Jack Layton congratulated the CEP on its courage and foresight around this issue. |
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Layton helped design Toronto's program
for energy retrofits which created thousands of construction jobs in the early 90's. He is now the city's official Sustainability Advocate. Finally, Elizabeth May of the Sierra Club reminded everyone that there is no serious dispute around the science of climate change. Every leading scientist in the world agrees that we are on a collision course with our environment. It's up to us all to take the steps to needed to save this planet - for our children and generations to come. |
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Dale Marshall's study on "Making Kyoto Work"can be found at www.policyalternatives.ca. |
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 Click here for Labour Council's Green Jobs |