First environmental action for Liberals could include ‘Just Transition Act’, strengthening CEPA

The Trudeau minority government’s new lead on environmental policy says the first actions that will be taken in the new Parliament to fight the climate crisis could include introducing its promised “Just Transition Act,” tweaking the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) and developing new carbon emission-reducing measures to ensure the government exceeds targets it set […]

Published Jan 21, 2020 at 11:15am

The Trudeau minority government’s new lead on environmental policy says the first actions that will be taken in the new Parliament to fight the climate crisis could include introducing its promised “Just Transition Act,” tweaking the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) and developing new carbon emission-reducing measures to ensure the government exceeds targets it set for itself for 2030.

Jonathan Wilkinson, who at the time was the fisheries minister, was one of 186 MPs who voted to pass a Liberal motion declaring that Canada was facing a “national climate emergency” less than three months before the federal election was called.

On Friday, Wilkinson spoke to iPolitics for a wide-ranging interview for the first time since being named Catherine McKenna’s successor as environment minister, a position he was appointed to about two months ago. Taking place just days before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet travelled to Winnipeg to meet ahead of this Parliament’s first stint of sitting for at least two weeks, Wilkinson said the government had not yet decided which environmental legislation it would introduce first. However, he signalled they may move soon on laws to facilitate the transition of fossil fuel workers to jobs that fit in a “low-carbon global economy,” which the Liberals said will be introduced as the Just Transition Act.