Liberal leader Stéphane Dion argues that by becoming a leading green nation, Canada will also be a more prosperous nation. By tackling climate change head on, there would be enormous economic gains because Canadian companies would have an incentive to develop the new technologies they could then sell all over the world, he says.
"Countries that embrace the environment as a core priority will lead the global economy in the 21st century," he argues. By undertaking a tough climate change program, "Canada will cut megatonnes of emissions, but we will also make megatonnes of money."
There's no doubt that over the next decade, the market for clean energy, energy efficiency and remediation will run into many trillions of dollars worldwide. But the real question for Canada is whether we can create the industry base to gain a sizable share of this looming massive market, and the good jobs that should go with it.
And here the real problem in Canada may be the same as we have with biotechnology and the life sciences. We do not have an industry base to take up the discoveries our scientists are making and converting them into jobs and wealth in Canada.
We don't have a large base of companies active in developing green technologies either, and possibly none with global scope. The Industry Canada website boasts that our environmental industry is "globally competitive, a technology leader, an employer of highly qualified workers, a major contributor to the Canadian economy."
Unfortunately, this does not square with reality.
Moreover, when Canadian firms show promising technologies, they are frequently taken over by foreign corporations. This is what happened with two leading Canadian companies in clean water technologies -- Trojan Technologies and Xenon Technologies. Both have been acquired by U.S. corporations.
In other instances, where Canada had the chance to be a global pacesetter-- for example, in hydrogen fuel-cell technology -- Canada never made the megaproject commitment in research support and demonstration projects to build on the early lead. Now, Canada is just one among many nations pursuing the hydrogen fuel-cell option.
Likewise, there has been great ambivalence about advancing Canada''s nuclear power capability. However, nuclear power technology is now enjoying a renaissance in different parts of the world since it is seen as a potential source of base electric power production that emits no greenhouse gases.
There will be huge opportunities, not only for new forms of energy, but also energy conservation and efficiency in transportation, buildings, appliances and industrial processes.
The need to act on climate change dominated this year's World Economic Forum in Davos, where business and political leaders admitted the world was headed for disaster unless we acted quickly and strongly. The release this past week of the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change the consensus of the world''s leading climate scientists -- paints an even grimmer picture than earlier reports.
Canada, then, is not alone in seeking to gain jobs and new industries in response to climate change and other environmental challenges. The U.S. government is investing heavily in R&D for new technologies. This is a key part of the Bush administration''s budget proposals.
Likewise, the European Union recently released a new energy strategy, including new technologies and plans to launch a new industrial revolution based on environmental and energy technologies. The EU will issue a European Strategic Energy Technology Plan later this year.
If Canada is to join in this new industrial revolution, it will have to develop the industry base to build on it. This means creating markets for new technology through strict regulation that will drive the demand for environmental and clean energy technologies. It means creating incentives for companies to invest. It means public and private funding of research and development. It means funding for demonstration projects.
The Harper government has relabeled some old Liberal programs to do some of these things. But it has been reluctant to use tough regulatory powers to push the development and adoption of technologies and its efforts appear to be driven mainly by political expediency, not conviction.
But if Canada is to benefit from the green industrial revolution, it must focus much greater attention, as it must in life sciences -- the other looming revolution of the 21st century -- if we are is to gain the new jobs to replace those we will lose to India, China and elsewhere.
Canadian wages on the rise
By Sunny Freeman
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Fri, Aug 27 2010
Canadians have been bringing home more money each week than they did during the economic downturn, when jobs and workers´ hours were slashed, but economists warn a return to recession in the United States could derail rising incomes.
Unemployment hits 15-year high in Ontario
By Madhavi Acharya, Tom Yew, Rita Trichur
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Sat, Jun 6 2009
Overall, Ontario was walloped by a net loss of 60,000 positions, bringing the province´s running tally of employment losses to 234,000 since the labour market peaked last October.
Employment insurance numbers jumped 10% in March
By CBC News
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Tue, May 26 2009
The number of Canadians collecting regular employment insurance benefits grew by 65,300, or more than 10 per cent, in March, marking the biggest monthly increase since the job market began to deteriorate in October.
Rising Gas Prices Guzzle Take-Home Pay
By Maura Pallera, Salary.com
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Thu, Aug 14 2008
This summer, Americans were paying, on average, $4.09 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline to fuel the vehicles they rely on to get to and from work everyday. This represents an increase of $1.14 over the same time last year.
Immigrant employment rising, StatsCan report says
By Eric Beauchesne, Canwest News Service
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Wed, May 14 2008
OTTAWA - Immigrant employment, seen as a way to offset projected labour shortages, increased sharply last year in Canada, easily outpacing that of native-born workers, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday.
