Senator Plett: Minister, the fact of the matter is 300,000 Canadians working in the oil and gas sector have already lost their jobs since your government took office. Your colleague the Minister of Labour says that industry workers need to know how much we appreciate their talents and how valuable they are. With Christmas just around the corner, these workers need certainty that their jobs are safe, and that they will not be forced out of their rural communities to obtain employment.

Minister, can you assure energy sector workers today that their jobs will be protected during these already difficult economic times?

Yes, we are firmly committed to that. But with regard to your comment about the loss of jobs in this sector, at this stage the loss is primarily, given the volumes being produced, the result of automation.

Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson, P.C., M.P., Minister of Natural Resources: Thank you for the question. Yes, the Just Transition, sometimes referred to these days as a plan for sustainable jobs, is something that we have been working on very actively — certainly not just myself, but also Minister O’Regan, Minister Qualtrough and, of course, our counterparts in the New Democratic Party who are part of the Supply and Confidence Agreement.

That is something that we intend to deliver early in the new year with respect to introduction of legislation, but also the release of a draft action plan outlining a number of the elements — not only on what we’ve done, but where we’re going. That will include a whole range of things that came out of the consultations that we held over the past couple of years, very much including the labour movement.

It certainly is not just about skills training and adjustment. It’s also about building an economy that will create good jobs for Canadians as we move forward.

We certainly are reflecting on the coal-related work that was done previously. I know you were very actively involved in that, senator. Some of those have already been acted on, but certainly we are looking at the remainder of those recommendations as we go forward with the broader plan, which is meant to address not just coal workers but others as well. As you know, even the funding that was put into place for coal workers expires at the end of 2023.

There is obviously time between then and when some of these plants will shut down, so there’s a broader conversation that needs to happen.