For Immediate Release
25 March, 2022
Reacting to this morning’s joint Federal-Provincial announcement to electrify oil powered buildings at Memorial University, NL NDP Leader, and MHA for St. John’s Centre, Jim Dinn calls this another good step to reduce greenhouse gas emissions locally. The NL NDP leader has concerns, however, that transition initiatives are being announced without a plan, and that it took the government this long to deliver on its 2019 electrification announcement.
“Minister O’Regan said it this morning ‘We need to pivot’, and he’s right,” said Dinn. “However, the consistent feet dragging on committing to a just transition plan for the country, and for Newfoundland and Labrador, is insulting to workers and communities in this province who do not know what their future will look like when the inevitable phase out of the industry takes place. A $10 million announcement to convert one of three boilers proves that there are transition initiatives here that will provide work, and investment for this province.”
Dinn’s concerns with this approach are rooted in government announcements on transition initiatives and oil and gas initiatives with no overarching plan. The NL NDP says this is a disservice to workers in the oil and gas industry and communities who are living in cyclical fear over their future in this province.
“We cannot continue to use transition plan announcements because we’re at the end of this fiscal year and there is money in the federal coffers that need to be spent. They are trying to hide the reality that both the federal and provincial Liberals have no plan and they’re effectively winging it when it comes to decisions about our future.”
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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