The Building Back Better Canada Plan can create or maintain 6.3M jobs: report
by CM Staff
The report argues it is essential that the federal government set the right policy framework to drive the transition to net-zero emissions
Building Back Better: Investments, Jobs, and GHG Reductions (2021-2030) PHOTO: Corporate Knights Inc.
TORONTO — On June 30, Corporate Knights Inc., a green research firm, released a report challenging the government coming out of COVID-19 to accelerate actions for a green recovery.
The report is a synthesis of seven white papers published from April to June. It presents research that helps to support a $109 billion investment by the federal government over the next 10 years to trigger total investments of $790 billion, mostly from the private sector.
The proposals will create or maintain more than 6.3 million years of employment and trigger $681 billion of additional investment in the next decade, the report says. They would also deliver $44 billion annually in energy savings to Canadians while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 242 megatonnes (Mt) of CO2e per year by 2030 and setting a course for a zero carbon Canada within a generation.
“As policy-makers design economic recovery plans, they are making decisions that will cast the die of our economy for decades to come,” said the authors in the report. “For this once-in-a-generation investment, it’s vital that we look ahead and invest in building an economy that’s ready for tomorrow.”
In addition to direct federal investment, the report argues that it is essential that the federal government set the right policy framework to drive the transition to net-zero emissions and encourage provinces and municipalities to follow suit by attaching green strings as a condition for accessing federal stimulus funds.
The areas for investment for the Building Back Better Canada Plan include the following programs:
- Deep retrofits of homes and workplaces
- Accelerated electric vehicle (EV) uptake
- Support for active mobility (e.g. walking and biking)
- Greening of the electricity grid
- Decarbonizing of heavy industry
- Nature-based climate solutions for our forests and farmland
- Making Canada a supplier of EV components and zero-carbon natural resources.
“Our proposal is that the Building Back Better Canada Plan would ensure that, starting now, integrated and mutually supportive zero-carbon investment programs support Canada’s move to net-zero emissions while delivering strong risk-adjusted returns to Canadians through their savings and pensions” the report concluded.
