Transitioning to a Prosperous Clean Economy - Late Debate

CLAUDIA CHENDER: Mr. Speaker, this won't be the first time that I've risen in this House to refer to an international instrument. We've talked about the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as well as a number of other international instruments, mostly by the UN, that govern some very fundamental ways that we order our society.

When I have raised them on this floor, in every case, it's been because I have been of the opinion that we are not in fact living up to them. This is no exception. However, this in particular is an issue that requires international co-operation, that requires everyone to play their part.

I'm hopeful that most members of this House will have noticed that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change tabled a report this year that was chilling. It makes clear that urgent actions on climate change are possible and that they are necessary. Aside from all the terrifying information imparted by that report, which the members ought to be familiar with, the by-product was a conversation around the fact that if we do take the necessary and dramatic actions to mitigate some of the worst effects of climate change - because we will not be able to mitigate it entirely - we could create prosperity. We could create community prosperity and we could create thousands of well-paying jobs, something that this government talks about regularly. But it's our opinion that this government, after six years in power, still has no plan to transition to a clean economy with the boldness required.

What I see in my role as Finance Critic and Business Critic is a Liberal Party and a government that is stuck in the mindset of jobs versus the environment. This is the dialogue that we have, but in fact that's not true. We need good jobs and we need to ensure that our children have a world to grow up in.

The government talks a good game, but our job growth for the past six years has been sluggish. It's lagged behind the rest of the country. Thirty to forty thousand Nova Scotians are out of work every year. There are 9,000 fewer people working than when this government took office, and while median incomes across the country have been growing, ours have been stagnant. That's not the way to grow a healthy economy that works for everyone.

It's clear that the government has not been living up to its promises in this regard, notwithstanding paying any attention to the climate file. As the world economy shifts green, many Nova Scotians who rely on jobs that are fossil fuel intensive, as we've been discussing today, are worried about their future. Are they going to fall through the cracks? Will their families suffer? What's the plan B? What's the mitigation plan, Mr. Speaker?

This isn't new. Since 2012, jobs in oil and gas in Canada have been collapsing, and in fact oil and gas is now, and has been for many, many years, the ones who are speaking a great amount of truth on this topic. The CEO of BP said in 2018, don't be fooled by the recent firming in oil prices; the rapid growth of renewables is leading to a challenging marketplace. The 2009 outlook from that same company predicts oil demand will remain flat and production will plateau. We need an economic strategy, Mr. Speaker, that ensures that Nova Scotian workers are not left behind.

There is a huge potential for job creation by investing in climate action and taking bold action. It's a necessity, not just an opportunity; $0.5 trillion dollars is invested in renewables and energy efficiency every year around the world. In the U.S., investment in renewables over the next decades is going to triple the investment in fossil fuels. To quote again from the BP Energy Outlook, hardly an environmental activist organization, they predict the pace at which renewable energy penetrates the global energy system will be faster than any fuel in history.

Where are we on this, Mr. Speaker? Every dollar government invests in energy efficiency in homes and offices not only reduces people's heating bills, reduces business costs, reduces greenhouse gases, it also adds $7 to the gross domestic product. Every $1 creates $7, and that's an opportunity. The Green Economy Network has calculated that over 30,000 jobs can be created in five years through a major investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and clean public transit. That is job creation. We don't need to reinvent the wheel to accomplish these goals. We need to significantly support existing models like Efficiency Nova Scotia, renewable energy projects, public transportation projects, and so many initiatives many organizations and municipalities and First Nations communities and others are already leading the way on. A simple increase of investment can have huge returns.

It won't just create jobs in engineering and construction. It can create jobs in agriculture, forestry, fishery, and manufacturing. Nova Scotia has a long tradition of sustainable industry, including in the fisheries, forestry, and agriculture. Creating a clean economy means building on those traditions and shifting some of our focus back to the local economy to import replacement. Nova Scotians are ready to build and innovate on our traditions. We know that without action, global warming will drive up the price of food, for instance. We can strengthen our local food supply. Nova Scotia could create 15,000 jobs, according to the Centre for Local Prosperity, and generate $8.8 million in new wages by importing 10 per cent less and producing and consuming more locally. This is achievable. A green economy is about growing the sectors that are already clean, as well, and making sure that they create jobs that are reliable and pay well. We can also innovate in new green industries.

I had the great fortune of meeting with Myrna Gillis at Aqualitas recently at the old Bowater site. Here's a green industry. They have a closed-loop system for growing a new product. They are employing Ph.D.s, engineers, they're bringing them to rural Nova Scotia. They're rehabbing a former heavy industrial site. But guess what? They're not eligible for payroll rebates. They're not eligible for loans or bridge financing that many of the people that they're competing against are. I ask this question - I've been asking it for two years when we were talking about legalizing cannabis, when we talk about all kinds of other local industries: What are our incentives for small local businesses that are doing things in a sensible way? And I'll give you the answer, Mr. Speaker « » : there's not much.

It's not just new industries. The film industry, creative industries, ecotourism, the service sector, education, and child care. These are all clean sectors that are crucial to our green future, but we treat them as an afterthought. These are not where our economic development dollars go. We need a plan and we don't have one. It needs to be democratic and everyone needs a seat at the table: First Nations, our African Nova Scotian communities, both of whom have suffered so much environmental racism.

Professor Kate Ervine told the media yesterday that everyone must be able to participate in choosing Nova Scotia's future. We and the whole world are facing a climate emergency. We are feeling it here in Nova Scotia. We've had frost and droughts and floods, and every member of this House has experienced that. We can't avoid the most serious impacts, as I said at the beginning.

Our children's world will look different than ours, but we can avoid the worst. If we act now, we can choose a different future. We need leadership and investment.

We've taken the wrong direction. We are slowing down our emissions reductions. We are choosing weaker emissions targets. We are advocating for deep sea oil-drilling and mineral exploration. We are supporting tire burning and plastic burning. We are not properly consulting our First Nations, including Sipekne'katik.

We can do better. If we make an ambitious investment in a clean economy right now, we can turn the Nova Scotia story around. We can be a beacon for other provinces, municipalities, and even countries, all of whom will have to make this change, like it or not.

I hope that the Liberal majority will listen to today's debate and finally take seriously that we are in climate emergency. Not only does that have meaningful and terrifying prospects for all of us and all of the people that we serve, but it is also an enormous opportunity to start now and to do things differently.

I invite the government and I invite my colleagues to be bold, to take their heads out of the sand, and to join us in starting to plan for what is an inevitable future.