Canada decides where to put some of its coal phaseout money

Canada is putting more than $19 million into studies and infrastructure projects aimed at helping communities move away from coal.

The money, originally promised in 2019, comes from the Canada Coal Transition Initiative and Canada Coal Transition Initiative-Infrastructure Fund, Daniel Vandal, minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada, announced Monday. These two funds help impacted communities in Alberta and Saskatchewan shift their economies away from coal-fired electricity generation.

Saskatchewan will get $13.6 million for 11 projects to help communities create jobs and transition away from coal. Eight projects throughout Alberta will receive more than $5.6 million.

In 2018, the federal government announced regulations to phase out traditional coal-fired electricity by 2030 and established the coal transition funds with a $25-million budget.

Budget 2019 promised an additional $105 million. To date, more than $32 million has been invested in Alberta communities, while Saskatchewan has received nearly $20 million.

Most of Alberta’s funding is earmarked for strategies and studies aimed at helping communities figure out how to best diversify their economies.

Although any funding is a good step, upskilling workers, retrofitting buildings or repurposing old infrastructure are more pressing than conducting studies, says Luisa Da Silva, executive director of Iron and Earth, an oilpatch worker-led organization trying to ensure a prosperous transition towards a net-zero world by 2050.

One of the more tangible projects to receive funding is the Just Transition Centre, run by United Steelworkers Local 1595, where $87,000 will pay for a co-ordinator to support laid-off coal industry workers in Wabamun, Alta.

Len Austin is the centre’s co-ordinator, and as a one-man operation, the federal dollars will pay his salary and ensure he can continue helping workers recently laid off from the Highvale and Genesee mines.

Austin helps workers build their resumes, apply for federal and provincial programs and provides computers, internet access and expertise to those in need.

Meanwhile, the bulk of Saskatchewan’s projects will replace water and sewage infrastructure and repair roads.

These infrastructure projects are exactly the type of thing Canadian energy workers need to see more of, says Da Silva.

The skills workers learn through infrastructure jobs will set them up to escape the boom-and-bust cycle of fossil fuel industries, she says.

The federal government promised a just transition act and launched a consultation process in July. The deadline for submissions was extended, with no new end date specified.

The federal funds for coal workers are “encouraging,” but “the scale of investment from the Liberals is grossly inadequate and continues to favour oil and gas over alternative energy sources,” reads a joint statement from NDP MPs Heather McPherson and Blake Desjarlais.

“Until the federal government takes the climate emergency seriously, stops subsidizing the oil and gas industry, and instead invests in workers and communities, workers in Alberta won’t see an effective transition and Alberta’s economy will suffer.”

Natasha Bulowski / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada’s National Observer