If you're new here, you may want to subscribe or learn more about Politonomist.

Canadian New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton said in Edmonton Saturday that Canada will need to take an “environmentally friendly” approach to job creation to recover from the recession.

Layton’s prescribed solution, like many other of the liberal left and environmentally conscious is to make use of “green initiatives” to get tradespeople and other workers back in employment, speaking directly to the 24,000 who lost their job — mostly in construction, he said — in Alberta last month.

“If we had a program to renovate homes, buildings, schools, churches, offices and factories to reduce energy use, we could put a lot of construction workers to work right now. Unfortunately, that’s not the path Stephen Harper is on,” concluded Layton, adding “Albertans are, in my view, the most misunderstood people across the country, because when I come here what I notice is there are more wind turbines per capita in Alberta than any other province.”

Additionally, NDP Poverty Critic, Tony Martin suggested that the leaders of the G20 nations would need to target poverty as the main risk factor in restoring faith and productivity in our economy.

“Canadians know it is the moral, legal and humanitarian right thing to do but it`s a smart economic move too, I welcome all the parties urging leaders to make this social investment that will reduce poverty and grow our economy,” said Martin in the NDP press release.

 Print This   Email This   Share/Save