Energy Jobs and the Road to COP28: Building a Sustainable Future for Canada

This week, Energy for a Secure Future (ESF) and Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU) had a roundtable conversation with Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan. The discussion focused on sustainable jobs and the emerging Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector.

Since the launch of ESF, the initiative has leaned on the expert insights of senior leaders from its advisory council and affiliate organizations, bringing together diverse perspectives from across industries to enable an energy secure environment for Canada and its allies.

Canadian workers will play an invaluable role in the global and domestic development of a secure energy future. Through dialogue with the Minister, we seek to ensure that this role is understood and supported in Canada’s policy approach.

Participants included:

• The Honourable Seamus O’Regan Jr., Minister of Labour and Seniors, Govt. of Canada
• Shannon Joseph, Chair, Energy for a Secure Future
• Sean Strickland, Executive Director, Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU)
• Paul Faulkner, Vice President, Eastern Canada, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers (IAHFAW)
• Russ Shewchuk, International Vice President, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
• Chris Paswisty, Director of Canadian Affairs, Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART)
• James Buisson, President Ironworkers District Council of Eastern Canada, International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers (IW)
• Steve Schumann, Government Relations, International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE)
• Armindo Correia, Lead Organizer, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT)

Canada is uniquely positioned to deliver energy as liquefied natural gas (LNG) that will significantly reduce global emissions while creating jobs and promoting prosperity within our country. In addition to environmental and economic benefits, expansion of Canada’s LNG industry will help advance reconciliation for the many Indigenous communities involved in LNG projects and related infrastructure as proponents, owners, partners, and regulators.

Working alongside Sean Strickland and CBTU, ESF seeks to amplify the labour perspective within the energy conversation in Canada. Canada is reliant on workers to build the infrastructure required to support its energy future, in addition to the projects that will enable the export of low emission Canadian LNG to the world. 

"Canadian LNG is projected to sustain over 77,000 good-paying jobs in Canada and will deliver low-emission energy to our international allies. On the road to COP 28, workers in the construction trades want to ensure that the government’s plans are developed with the creation and sustainability of Canadian jobs in mind."
- Sean Strickland, Executive Director, CBTU

"A secure future for Canada and the world requires that we fulfill our potential as a safe and responsible supplier of LNG. Canada’s workers are critical to making energy opportunities a reality and they are an important voice in how to get environmental policy right as we seek to reduce domestic emissions, while supporting our friends around the world."
- Shannon Joseph, Chair, ESF