A paycheque that pays back: Blue Green Canada working for an economy that provides good jobs and protects the environment

Let me tell you a little secret. We can have it all.

With a clean-energy economy, Canadians can have strong communities, a healthier environment, and truly sustainable and rewarding livelihoods. We don’t need to pick one of these over another—in a low-carbon future, all can grow stronger at the same time.

That why when our Energy team recently had the opportunity to join  Blue Green Canada, we jumped at the chance. Blue Green Canada is an alliance of labour unions, environmental groups, and civil-society organizations. It advocates for working people and the environment by promoting solutions that offer positive employment and economic outcomes.

Blue Green Canada is rooted in the philosophy that a future sustainable economy can and must provide good jobs and protect the environment, without favouring one over the other. The United Steelworkers and Environmental Defence Canada came together to form the alliance back in 2008, but its ranks have since grown to include the Communications, Energy and Paper Workers Union of Canada (CEP), the Columbia Institute, the Pembina Institute, and now us.

Our Energy initiative’s work building consensus around a sustainable Canadian energy strategy has shown that we must find ways to support Canadians—for example, by providing training and retraining opportunities—so they can thrive in the new jobs associated with the clean energy future. Blue Green Canada is working to address these challenges, which is why we were pleased to join their ranks. 

We believe that with the right leadership and policies, Canada could one day prove a global success story for how a resource based economy largely transitioned its workforce to embrace a 21^st century energy model. We look forward to collaborating with our new and old friends to move these conversations forward.

Find out more about how you can join the call of Canadians supporting a new national energy strategy, and why it matters to you, at Clean Energy Canada.