For Immediate Release
11 February, 2022
NL NDP Leader, and MHA for St. Johns’ Centre Jim Dinn, responding to reports from Radio-Canada that the Federal Liberal Cabinet may call for the end of oil and gas development in Newfoundland and Labrador, is calling for Premier Furey to release the just transition supports plan that workers are owed, and stop forcing them through this cycle of fear and false hope. The NDP Leader says workers of the industry should channel their anger at this government’s continued defiance of climate science and their catering to profitable oil and gas industries. They must ensure that that are not casualties to the failure of successive Liberal and Tory governments to plan for reality.
“We cannot continue to be ignorant to climate science, and the impact the decisions of today have on our future generations,” said Dinn. “The science is clear, we need to keep oil in the ground and our focus must immediately turn to how workers are going to be transitioned to our new economy.”
“These workers need supports and assurances for their futures through a just transition supports plan. They cannot continue to be held hostage by a volatile industry that is in active decline. Ottawa cannot put our workers and their families through this while they hastily slap together the policies to hit their environmental mandate.” Dinn said today.
The NL NDP Leader is calling on government to place the same level of priority on a just transition supports plan for workers as they have on getting provincial assets ready for sale. Since Andrew Furey became Premier a year and a half ago the Moya Greene Report was published, millions of dollars were handed to Rotheschild Co. for a report to be completed within months to mark provincial assets for sale.
“Premier Furey committed to big bold solutions to the state of the province, instead we have workers without the confidence they will have a future in this province. People are struggling to make ends meet, our population has declined, and our assets are up for sale,” said Dinn. “In November Premier Furey referred to a just transition as a ‘buzzword’, now look at what we’re facing. This government just doesn’t get it.”
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For further information, contact Eddy St. Coeur, Director of Communications, NDP Caucus at 729-2137 (o), or eddystcoeur@gov.nl.ca