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After passing through the House of Commons in April, and more recently garnering Senate approval, the Sustainable Jobs Act received royal assent on June 20, 2024.

The Act is a major plank of the federal government’s overall climate plan. As its name suggests, the legislation’s goal is to support workers and communities by creating high-quality, socially-responsible (and preferably unionized) jobs, as part of the transition away from fossil fuels.

A largely-procedural law, similar to the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, the Sustainable Jobs Act provides for the creation of a Sustainable Jobs Council to advise government ministers in planning the energy transition and its impact on Canadian employment. The Council will feature representatives from labour and environmental groups, as well as Indigenous communities. It also requires issuance of a Sustainable Jobs Action Plan every five years, to serve as a framework for supporting workers through the transition.

Notwithstanding the fact that the Act will not in itself monumentally change anything, the Conservative Party of Canada strenuously fought its passage. Conservative MPs went as far as proposing almost 20,000 amendments during the committee stage (possibly generated with the help of AI). Roughly 200 proposed amendments of these were still live before the House of Commons’ vote, leading Speaker Greg Fergus to rule nearly half simply inadmissible.

Although previously criticized for being too weak on Indigenous rights, as well as for its inclusion of “false solutions,” such as carbon capture, the Act’s passage represents the fulfilment of a long-standing government promise and pragmatic (albeit modest) move in the direction of building a more sustainable Canadian economy.

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