Transition in Canada’S Important Fossil Own Interests (To the Great Frustration Fulfilling, for the Greatest Number of Fuel Sectors (Page 16)
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in transition CANADIAN CENTRE FOR POLICY ALTERNATIVES JULY/AUGUST 2018 $6.95 Contributors Martin Adelaar is a retired Cynthia Khoo is a public of Technology (UOIT), and energy management interest lawyer who focuses one of the world’s foremost consultant and advocate on internet policy and digital authorities and renowned and a member of the Ottawa rights. Her column, Below the authors on hate crime. She is Renewable Energy Co- Fold, appears regularly in the Director of the newly formed Vol. 25, No. 2 operative. Monitor. Centre on Hate, Bias and ISSN 1198-497X Extremism at UOIT. Canada Post Publication 40009942 Frank Bayerl is a retired Marc Lee is a senior economist translator and regular with the British Columbia Roger Peters is a retired The Monitor is published six times volunteer at the CCPA’s office of the Canadian Centre environmental researcher, a year by the Canadian Centre for national office in Ottawa. for Policy Alternatives. consultant, writer and Policy Alternatives. Simon Enoch is Director of the Laura Macdonald is a professor advocate, and a founding The opinions expressed in the CCPA-Saskatchewan. in the department of political member of the Ottawa Monitor are those of the authors science and the Institute of Renewable Energy Co- and do not necessarily reflect Gerard Di Trolio writes Political Economy at Carleton operative. the views of the CCPA. about labour and politics. His articles have appeared in University, and co-investigator Peter G. Prontzos is Professor Please send feedback to RankandFile.ca, where he is an on the SSHRC-funded research Emeritus of Political Science at [email protected]. editor, Jacobin, In These Times, program Austerity and its Langara College in Vancouver, Alternatives. and a CCPA-BC research Editor: Stuart Trew Alternet and elsewhere. associate. Senior Designer: Tim Scarth Ellen Gould is a researcher Shoshana Magnet is Associate Layout: Susan Purtell on international trade and a Professor of Feminist Katie Raso is Digital Editorial Board: Peter Bleyer, research associate with the and Gender Studies and Communications Officer with Alyssa O’Dell, Seth Klein, Kate CCPA-BC. Criminology in the University the CCPA. She has worked McInturff, Erika Shaker, Emily Turk of Ottawa’s faculty of social with a variety of progressive Amy Hall is a freelance CCPA National Office: sciences. organizations including journalist covering social Canadian Doctors for Medicare HELP US SHED LIGHT ON THE 141 Laurier Avenue W, Suite 1000 and environmental justice Paula Mallea is a CCPA Ottawa, ON K1P 5J2 and Media Democracy Days in stories from the local to the research associate who Tel: 613-563-1341 Vancouver. global. She previously worked practised criminal law for 15 Fax: 613-233-1458 ISSUES THAT MATTER TO YOU. at New Internationalist and years in Ontario and Manitoba. Mark Rowlinson is Assistant to [email protected] Her latest book, Beyond the Canadian National Director www.policyalternatives.ca has written for publications including the Guardian, Incarceration: Safety and True at the United Steelworkers. CCPA BC Office: Ecologist and Red Pepper. Criminal Justice, was released Jim Stanford is a former (we’ve got some bright ideas) 520-700 West Pender Street in November by Dundurn economist with Unifor, a Vancouver, BC V6C 1G8 Elaine Hughes is an Press. environmental activist in long-time research associate Tel: 604-801-5121 Howard Mann is an associate with the CCPA, and currently Fax: 604-801-5122 several non-profit groups including the Council of and senior international law Director of the Centre for [email protected] advisor with the International Future Work in Sydney Canadians, where she chairs MAKE A DONATION Tax receipts are issued for contributions of $15 or more. CCPA Manitoba Office: the Quill Plains (Wynyward), Institute for Sustainable Australia. Unit 205-765 Main Street Saskatchewan chapter. Development. 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Her clients have community-owned anti- included GUTS magazine, people struggle against the City Province Postal Code Or donate online at: differential vulnerabilities oppressive bookstore in Vichy Canada, e-how.com, Canthius Publications and THIS The Monitor is a proud member produced by capitalist society. Ottawa. WWW.POLICYALTERNATIVES.CA of Magazines Canada. magazine. Telephone (Required) Email Yes, I prefer to receive my tax receipt Please do not trade my name with other and updates by email. organizations. REGISTERED CHARITY #124146473 RR0001 TABLE OF CONTENTS July/August 2018 work in transition Climate change, technological disruption, inequality and shifting labour relations challenge us to think of better ways to organize society, the economy and ourselves. Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood, Simon Enoch, Cynthia Khoo, Katie Raso and Fiona Jeffries consider where we are, and where we need to be, on the just transition to a more sustainable, more worker-friendly future. COLUMNS FEATURES BOOKS Alternate Futures: How “progressive” An extended summer The contradictions of can trade really be? reading guide with reviews pension fund activism 13 We asked the experts 32 and recommendations from the CCPA and friends 46 Work Life: All power to the Solidarity with energy co-operatives 42 Indigenous workers 15 A different take on Venezuela’s election 44 Editorial 2 | Letters 3 | Up Front 5 | Index 7 | New From the CCPA 11 | Behind the Numbers 14 | Good News Page 31 From the Editor STUART TREW In between days ERE AT THE CCPA, where our core hand,” since this would “make dealing usually blamed on one or all of Donald mandate is social justice via with a potentially AI-overrun future Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. smart policy, we’re pretty much much less daunting.” These leaders can see the cracks in the Hconstantly thinking about what Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood lists neoliberal world order but are not in- needs to change in our lives, our econo- some of the proactive and reactive terested in patching them. Rather, they my and our ways of governing to make policies that will be essential to a just are trying to create a new order in their society more equitable, and life more transition in Canada’s important fossil own interests (to the great frustration fulfilling, for the greatest number of fuel sectors (page 16). “Sooner or later, of lesser powers). “Into this ferment, people. Broadly speaking, you could we will move on from coal, oil and progressives must inject an ambitious, say our mandate is transition, the natural gas,” he writes, pointing out honest and pragmatic vision of how theme of this summer edition of the the geological and economic barriers to manage international trade, capital Monitor. to our dependence on carbon for and human flows in ways that protect Some of our ideas for what a fair, energy. “For fossil fuel communities and enhance living standards, equality or just, transition to a better future across the country, it is more impor- and the environment,” writes Jim Stan- would look like don’t change that tant than ever to plan for a future ford in our special feature on Canada’s much as governments—provincial without those energy staples. If they “progressive trade agenda” (starting on or national—come and go or mar- don’t, the next bust might be their page 32). kets rise and fall. Until a time comes last.” Martin Adelaar, Roger Peters History may sometimes slow down when there is no more need of money, and Geoff Stiles write about the need enough to create an illusion of perma- for example, the wealth produced for the transition to renewables to be nence in human interactions, in one collectively by society should be led by workers and co-operatives, and country or globally, but we are clearly more fairly redistributed.