Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson arrives at a news conference in Ottawa on Wednesday, April 10, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
OTTAWA – MPs are staring down another voting marathon as the Conservatives push forward with dozens of proposed amendments to the government’s sustainable jobs bill.
Bill C-50 is a bureaucratic to-do list outlining how government must help prepare energy workers for the new skills and job requirements that are coming with the global clean-tech economic transition.
Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the bill ensures government accountability and engagement with the people most affected by the transition.
Conservative critic Shannon Stubbs calls it a blueprint for the Liberals’ “widescale radical economic restructuring,” and argues it will put thousands of energy workers out of their jobs.
The bill has been in political purgatory since December, when the government pulled it from the order paper to avoid a prolonged vote, but it’s back on the table today.
The House Speaker has divided more than 200 Tory amendments into groups, so there will be no more than 64 votes, though each round of voting can take 15 minutes or more.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2024.
