St. John's East candidates have different views on fossil fuel subsidies, despite similar priorities

While all three main party candidates in the federal riding of St. John's East agree on the existence of a climate emergency, their opinions on subsidies to the oil and gas industry differ dramatically.

On Monday, federal NDPLeader Jagmeet Singh announced his government would eliminate fossil fuel subsidies if elected. The Conservative and Liberal parties, meanwhile, plan to keep subsidies to varying degrees.

According to areport by the Newfoundland and Labrador oil and gas industry recovery task force,the offshore petroleum industry accounted for nearly 30 per cent of GDP, 13 per cent of provincial labour compensationand 10 per cent of provincial employment from 2010 to 2017.

The industry has experienced significant decline more recently, in large part due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mary Shortall, the NDP candidate inSt. John's East, agreed with Singh's stance, saying the federal government should start planning to transition to a greener economy as soon as possible.

"We know we're in a climate emergency. We know that we're in a crisis. If we don't act, it will be catastrophic," she said. "We can't rely on oil and gas forever."

Shortall saida transition plan needs to include "decent, fair and safe" jobs for oil and gas workers.

She compared the transition from the oil and gas industry to the cod moratorium, and said the federal government could learn from mistakes made during the collapse of the cod fishery.

"The workers now are making very good wages, decent wages, and they're terrified," she said.

She said the money currently used to subsidize the oil and gas industry should instead be used to develop a plan to ensure workers will have jobs when the transition away from oil and gas happens.

'An alternate view'

Conservative candidate Glenn Etchegary said there is "no question" climate change is an emergencybut he has an "alternate view" on oil and gas subsidies.

"We're at a very critical time in the history of our province where we're fighting tremendous debt load right now," he said.

He said contributing to greenhouse gases is "not an issue"because Newfoundland and Labrador produces fossil fuels with a lower carbon footprint.

"The issue here for us is giving people hope, giving them a reason to stay in Newfoundland and Labrador," Etchegary said.

He pointed to the $1.5-billion incentive program for oil and gas companies in the Conservative platform as a boon for workers.

"The world needs fuel. It will need it for a while yet. We're not saying that we don't transition," he said, addingthe revenue generated from the oil and gas industry could fund the green technologies of the future.

'A balanced approach'

Liberal candidate Joanne Thompson said she's in favour of a "balanced approach" that will meet the target of net zero emissionswhile protecting the workers who will be affected by a transition away from the oil and gas industry.

"We need to preserve the skill set because that's our competitive advantage going forward," Thompson said.

While climate change is "a crisis," she said,she supports what the Liberal government has done so far.

The party has not released its full platform yet, buthas previously resisted dropping its support for the fossil fuel industry entirely.

"I don't think we can deny climate change. We know we need to act. But I think the difference is how we move forward," she said.

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