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As more Canadians become aware of the need to protect our environment in more precise and directed ways, some steps have been taken to make the greening of our economy a reality on a more macro scale.

In February, our union and Environmental Defence created a new partnership known as Blue Green Canada and were able to applaud the Ontario government’s introduction of the Green Energy Act.  It contains elements that fit into the USW’s agenda for creating jobs in a developing green economy across Canada. If that can be achieved in all provincial and federal jurisdictions, Canada could become a leader in renewable energy on the international stage and lead the way in job creation at the same time. 

The old attitudes of environment versus jobs are gone.  There is no competition between jobs and the environment in an economy that needs to be rebuilt.  That rebuilding simply has to focus on generating investment and job opportunities in a world that can no longer be utterly dependent on processes that have existed since the industrial revolution.  It’s time instead for a Green Revolution. 

The USW has been vocal in our call for domestic procurement policies. Including domestic-content guidelines in a Green Energy Act is a decision in the right direction. Creating demand for renewable energy, and then encouraging buy-Canada for wind turbines and solar panels are ways to create good new jobs and meet our objectives to address climate change at the same time.

Proof that these measures can work can be found in the US, where the Blue Green Alliance between the USW and the Sierra Club was instrumental in bringing the international windmill manufacturer, Gamesa, to Pennsylvania and creating thousands of new good jobs. Recently the Alliance sponsored a ”Green Jobs, Good Jobs” conference in Washington that attracted 2,700 participants from across the US and Canada.

It is vitally important that our union be on top of the changes that will lead to a greener economy.  We must ensure that the ‘real’ economy – the one that creates real jobs for people instead of wealth based on speculation and the stock market – is front and centre in whatever changes are made.

We believe that Blue Green Canada can and will make a difference moving forward.  We have also become members of the Green Energy Act Alliance, whose goals include recommending the development of a feed-in tariff procurement system that encourages the rapid growth of renewable energy and a focus on energy conservation.

Building the union from here on depends on reaching out to groups that will help support our agenda on the economy and the environment, and help bring back more jobs for more Canadians.  These and other strategies will go a long way toward getting out of the current downturn with economically and environmentally sustainable policies and practices.

More than ever, our future depends on it.