Green jobs and a green economy

Creating green jobs and strategizing on how B.C. can transition to a green economy is the focus of a very important conference in Vancouver this weekend.
 
Over 25 labour and leading trade union organizations – everyone from the BC Federation of Labour to the David Suzuki Foundation – are participating in the "Jobs, Justice, Climate: Building a Green Economy for B.C." on Friday and Saturday.
 
This is a real “blue/green” effort. Together, we want to map the way to a green economy.
 
Skeptics keep repeating that you can either have a thriving economy that creates jobs or a clean environment, but you can’t have both. We want to prove the naysayers wrong.
 
All British Columbians have a stake in the future of our environment and our economy and this conference is a big step forward. We can create jobs and show environmental leadership in British Columbia. I know that BCGEU members believe in environmental responsibility. Many of them work hands-on to protect our environment: our members work in the Ministry of Forests and Range and the Parks Branch, among others.
 
The fact is, there is real potential for creating green jobs in this province, and the vast majority could be in existing occupations. We are thinking of sheet metal workers and electricians building wind farms or carpenters and construction managers working on old building retrofitting projects .
 
I will be at the event, and I hope you will be able to attend Friday night's keynote speech. David Foster will tell us about his successful experience leading the Blue Green Alliance, a US coalition of environmental groups and labour unions pushing for green jobs down south.
 
For more information on the conference, check the BCGEU web site. Check our the web site and the Provincial for a full conference report.