Two "westerners" offer up a new idea for renewing confederation while rising to the climate challenge. My new piece with @GilMcGowan: a modest proposal nationalobserver.com/2019/11/30/opi… via @NatObserver
@gilmcgowan @NatObserver The equalization formula isn’t the problem; it’s more or less operating as intended. The latest Alberta budget itself boasts, if Alberta taxed individuals and corporations at rates comparable to other provinces, it would have “at least $13.4 billion more in taxes.”
But Alb & Sask do have a legitimate case on a related point. When it comes to taking action on the climate emergency, it is true that some provinces are going to have to do more heavy lifting to reduce Canada’s GHGs. This transition will be more challenging in those places.
So instead of revising the equalization formula, what if we created a new federal transfer to the provinces linked specifically to climate action and just transition. We could call it the “Climate Emergency Just Transition Transfer.”
It could fund both job-creating green infrastructure projects and training/apprenticeships. It should be large – enough to signify that our country is ready to treat the climate crisis as the existential threat it is.
The transfer’s distribution could be linked to recent GHG emissions in each province (but fixed from that point forward, so that it does not perversely incentivize continued high GHGs). Alb is currently responsible for ~38% of Canada’s GHGs, so it would get 38% of the transfer $.
But fed government should not simply hand the money over to prov governments. Instead, we should establish new just transition agencies – one in each province – jointly governed by the feds, provincial and local governments, and, vitally, Indigenous nations from that province...
and with civil society representatives too from labour, business, and academic/NGO experts. This would ensure the money is used for its intended purpose. We might want to require that provincial co-governance be linked to cost-shared contributions.
The key would be that it would represent real dollars for actual transition and new jobs (not vague assurances and the historic false promises of just transition).
The transfer could include a “good jobs guarantee” for current energy workers & other conditions: ending fossil fuel subsidies; minimum apprenticeships for women & Indigenous people; and minimum royalty rates. The transfer should be tied to demonstrated 📉 in GHGs.
The funding for such a program could be drawn mainly from ending fossil fuel subsidies and new taxes on fossil fuel companies. In essence, this would see the oil and gas industry itself contributing to much of the cost of this necessary transition.
We also need to recognize how hard this transition will be, particularly for some regions, and approach the task with understanding. That’s always been the challenge of confederation.
A proposal such as this – linking the calls for a “Green New Deal” with those for a “New Deal” in confederation – might be just the ticket.
