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The Honourable Brian Jean
Minister of Energy and Minerals, Government of Alberta
Minister,
Re: Unifor Meeting on Alberta’s Energy Sector
On behalf of Unifor’s Energy Industry Council, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to meet on November 24 to discuss the priorities of our energy worker members. Unifor Energy Council represents 15,000 members working in oil and gas extraction, natural gas distribution, electric utilities, and petroleum refineries across Canada.
Unifor is committed to an energy strategy that protects good, unionized jobs while ensuring a sustainable future for Alberta’s energy sector, specifically:
Evolving regulations addressing methane leaks in the sector.
Supporting public procurement that supports a sovereign and secure nuclear supply chain.
Ensuring continued biofuels investment through domestic content requirements.
Expanding the use of existing rail infrastructure for the transport of energy products within Canada.
1. Keep it in the Pipe
Unifor’s Keep it in the Pipe campaign advocates for smart regulations to support investment in reducing methane emissions.
We are interested in continued engagement with the government through any working groups that examine best practices for leak detection and repair. This includes supporting the research and deployment of new leak detection technologies and ensuring regulations cover the entire supply chain of natural gas, including distribution.
2. Prioritizing CANDU technology
Unifor believes reliance on foreign developed and owned nuclear technology presents risks to energy sovereignty. Reliance on foreign-owned designs forces reliance on foreign intellectual property, supply chains, and enriched nuclear fuel imports. All of which are subject to U.S. export controls.
We caution against the current trend of expanding M.O.U.s for American-owned technology such as Small Modular Reactors by GE-Hitachi (BWRX-300) or Westinghouse large reactor development (AP-1000).
Unifor advocates for prioritizing Canadian (CANDU) technology that maximizes domestic economic benefits and ensures nuclear energy supply chain security.
3. Biofuel domestic content and investment
Alberta are home to key biofuel facilities, however the industry faces an existential threat from subsidized American imports.
Unifor supports the continued development of this sector through domestic content requirements, diversification of product including renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, and countering U.S. subsidies.
4. The transport of oil and energy product
Unifor supports the continued commercial investment and maintenance of pipelines if they also meet the needs of workers and the communities and environment they pass through.
However, we believe Canadian oil and gas should be refined and transported from extraction to regions where Canadian industry needs oil and chemical inputs without that product travelling through other countries.
To fill the immediate demand for these products across Canada, Unifor also supports the transporting of oil and chemical product east, west, and north by rail.
Unifor looks forward to continuing this dialogue to build Alberta’s energy strategy.
Sincerely,
Dirk Tolman
Unifor National Energy Chairperson
