The People and Prosperity Podcast

Implementing Just Transition in Canada

Sat, 15 Nov 2025 03:35:00 -0700

Today on the People Planet Prosperity Podcast, Canada Action founder Cody Battershill and Lynn Exner, Chief Operating Officer of Canada Action are back again, this time to discuss the meaning of just transition and how it can be implemented. Together, they stress that as Canada takes climate action, the people in high emission industries, communities, and jobs should be kept at the very heart of the discussion and not left behind.

Cody and Lynn begin by defining what just transition is and isn't, and go back in time to the term's origin. They address the extremist position that just transition is about the end of oil and gas and advocate for people who live and work in high emitting industries to be kept at the forefront of the just transition discussion. They then zoom in on what the roadmap to transitioning to a lower emission economy ought to look like and who should be involved in developing and implementing just transition. Lynn stresses the need to educate people in high emitting industrial communities about how this is their chance to participate meaningfully in moving to a low carbon economy without seeing the end of the industry that allows them to thrive. Cody then discusses the need to exercise caution to ensure that just transition does not turn into unjust substitution. All in all, today our hosts encourage listeners, as resource workers and supporters of resource families, to step up and let their voices regarding just transition be heard. This episode was recorded on November 19th, 2021.

To learn more about supporting Canada's vital natural resource sector, please visit CanadaAction.ca.

Episode Highlights:

· The meaning and origin of just transition.

· A roadmap to transitioning to a lower emission economy.

· Who should be involved in developing and implementing just transition?

· The United Nations' alarming reports on climate change.

· The dependence on the natural resource sector and the affordable, reliable fuels we get from fossil fuels.

· How to ensure that as we take action on climate, we don't lose ground on good and decent jobs, access to clean, affordable, reliable energy, and everything impacting healthcare, education, and prosperity in a nation.

· The need for people to read the source documents themselves from the IPCC and United Nations to avoid deception.

· The focus of just transition on the worker and the communities.

· The transition off of thermal coal as an energy source in Canada.

· The Canadian government's failure in implementing best practices and recommendations in the just transition process for thermal coal as well as lessons learned

· Congress of Parties 24 and its goals.

· CCUS, as a pillar of NetZero and decarbonization, continues to support homegrown innovation and technology and the collaboration that's happening in Canada in the resource, oil, and gas space.

· Addressing the fallacy that just transition means to totally come off of oil and gas and fossil fuels.

· It is essential to educate people in high emitting industrial communities and encourage them to participate meaningfully in moving to a low carbon economy without seeing the end of their industry.

· Reaching out to communities and trying to counteract the drumbeat of negativity and doom regarding just transition.

· The workers in the community need to be at the heart of just transition.

· Figuring out the best ways to keep communities thriving and surviving while removing emissions.

· Avoiding unjust substitution.

Quotes

"Transitioning to a lower emission economy is obviously important to all of us. However, it is not something that's going to happen overnight."

"You cannot have climate action be successful if half the population feels threatened by those policies."

"The principles of just transition that are important to discuss are that when you move to a low carbon economy, that you maintain the same quantity and quality of jobs in a community."

"Just transition says that I should not, as an energy worker, have to take all the burden of the cost of this transition, and other people in Canada don't face any of those burdens."

"I think the biggest piece for me on the activism is that it should be those people most impacted that have a say and that are central to what is going on."

"That is the whole point behind the just transition principle. It is, at the very heart is the worker, is the community, where you give them the tools and the resources to decarbonize their own communities in ways that make sense."

"If we're not careful, instead of a just transition, we will end up with unjust substitution."

"For those of you who are feeling that just transition is perhaps a threat to your livelihood, I would encourage you to look a little more carefully. This is an opportunity for those workers who work in these industries to be at the center and to be masters of their own future."

"Workers themselves should be at the focus, not those people from maybe urban centers or communities that are not as directly impacted. This is the portion where the resource worker is at the heart."

Links:

Canada Action CanadaAction.ca

Indigenous Involvement in Natural Resources across Canada

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 03:40:00 -0700

In today’s episode, our hosts, Cody Battershill and Lynn Exner, engage in a fascinating discussion regarding the involvement of Indigenous people in utilizing natural resources across Canada. Together, they clearly demonstrate that the consent of indigenous people and recognition of indigenous rights is vital not only to the economy but to the advancement of the country as a whole.

Cody and Lynn begin by diving into the involvement of First Nations in decisions surrounding natural resources in Canada and reviewing the perceived opposition of First Nations to large projects like the Trans Mountain Pipeline and The Coastal GasLink project. They go on to discuss the importance of finding a balance for all parties involved and the benefits of First Nations utilizing their resources. Our hosts also touch on the subject of consent and indigenous rights, shedding light on UNDRIP, FPIC, and the progress Canada has made in these matters. The episode concludes with their explanation as to why anti-development activists need to respect the decisions of First Nations concerning maximizing their resources and consenting to projects that will help all Canadians realize the highest possible quality of life and economic benefits. This episode was recorded on November 19th, 2021.

To learn more about supporting indigenous rights, please visit indigenousresourcenetwork.ca

Episode Highlights:

● Canada’s Trans Mountain Pipeline

● The impacts of large, linear projects on First Nations

● Finding the balance that benefits all parties

● The underlying reason for opposition to the Coastal GasLink project

● Discussing UNDRIP and Canada’s progress in including Indigenous Rights

● Dissecting Bill C-15, FPIC and the issue of consent from First Nations

● The importance of FPIC to all parties involved

● Examining the Ferry Creek protests

● Dissecting other case studies

Quotes:

“The majority of indigenous communities from every province and territory in Canada have chosen to engage, ensuring they can benefit economically while safeguarding the ability of future generations to enjoy the land and traditional way of life.”

“We are recognizing that we do need to be consulting with First Nations on their land, and that is terrific.”

“Industry has actually done a tremendous job, and they've spent years and years in consultation, and in creating those benefits agreements.”

“A lot of really important concepts came out of the Trans Mountain project itself in terms of advancing indigenous rights, but also understanding the complexity of these issues.”

“When we maximize the value of our resources, that is just simply the smart thing to do. And it funds and it helps all Canadians realize the highest possible quality of life and economic benefits.”

“The job of government, whether it be a First Nations government, whether it be local, provincial or federal, is to try to balance those two sides and then come down with what's going to be most beneficial.”

“Canada actually has set the gold standard for inclusivity of indigenous rights.”

“I feel like what we talk about with regards to indigenous rights is the right to say ‘No’ to a project...but what I feel is getting left behind so often in this discussion is the right to say ‘Yes’, to using your resources.”

“Anti-development activists have long used the concept of some indigenous people being opposed to development as if they're synonymous, and they are not synonymous.”

“You're not a supporter of democracy if you only like it when the decision falls in your favor.”

“The more complicated it gets to do business on First Nations land, the less likely they are to have these opportunities to develop their resources.”

“Indigenous-owned businesses are 40 times more likely to be engaged in resource development than the median Canadian business.”

Links:

Canada Action CanadaAction.ca

Oil and Gas Aren't Dead Yet: The Realities of Global Energy Demand

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 03:45:00 -0700

On today’s People Planet Prosperity Podcast, Cody and Lynn explore the polarizing question: ‘Are oil and gas dead?’ The fact is that the demand for oil and gas is growing, continuing to approach pre-pandemic levels and expected to continue past that, remaining a critical component of our lives for years to come. So we need to have a balanced, honest discussion about energy demand and how to ensure that global consumers can make responsible choices about the source of the natural gas and oil they’re using.

Cody and Lynn start their conversation by looking at the continued, rising demand for oil and gas, pointing out that the world will need access to all forms of energy for years to come. They discuss peak oil and what it’ll look like when the global market reaches that point, with Cody pointing out that technology has opened up new resources and pushed back the predictions for peak oil to between 2030 and 2050. He also asserts that when demand does peak, trillions of dollars of investment will be required to avoid shortages and a series of crises would emerge in their wake. Moving on, they talk about political policies and the complexity of the decisions that need to be made surrounding decisions on energy. They wrap things up by looking at Canada’s know-how and high standards in reducing emissions and how the country should be a leader in terms of investment and expertise in balanced forms of energy production in the future.

To learn more about supporting Canada's vital natural resource sector, please visit CanadaAction.ca.

Episode Highlights:

· The UN has just issued a report which gives a code red that the world needs to get off oil and gas as soon as possible.

· Even with the continued development of clean and renewable sources of energy, all forms of energy, including oil and gas, will be needed for years to come.

· Even if transportation demand does drop off, petrochemical demand is expected to increase due to our reliance on oil and gas to make plastics, even for seemingly gasoline-free products like electric cars.

· It is possible to continue to use oil and gas while still working towards net zero by utilizing technology to reduce our impact – an area Canada is leading in.

· The predictions for peak oil have been pushed back by ten to thirty years via the use of technology to open up new resources and new production.

· A massive amount of investment is required annually just to keep oil and gas supply flat – if new production isn’t continually added, supply will decline dramatically, leading to crises such as the Colonial Pipeline outage.

· Population growth, which is predicted to reach nine or even ten billion by 2040-50, means energy demand will continue to grow even if people make changes to their lifestyles.

· It’s important for Canada to invest in infrastructure and support for energy production, including clean energy, in order to avoid shortages and to end reliance on unreliable imported energy.

· Canada can reduce emissions, save money and increase its energy security by investing in energy production and allowing its citizens to make responsible choices about where they get their energy from.

· The world is going to require potentially fifteen to twenty trillion dollars of investment in oil and gas in the next thirty years.

Quotes:

“We know that climate action is important, but there is no technological substitute for the vast uses and power density and energy density that is stored in a barrel of oil or in natural gas today.”

“There was a report a couple years ago that said, in 2040, if all new vehicles sold were electric, you would still have oil demand around 85 million barrels a day, due to the plastics required to make those electric vehicles and the many, many, many other uses that, you know, we don't often know about or think about, from what oil and natural gas allows us to make.”

“What we have to recognize is that every year, you know, the world needs about $500 billion of investment into new oil and gas production to keep supply flat. Why? Because the existing production, it does deplete and it runs out.”

“So if we were to stop investing in oil and gas today, as many are calling for, we would have a major crisis, in addition to the most expensive energy we've ever witnessed, we would have a major, a major shortage, you would be waiting in massive lines for gasoline, there would be a shortage of everything. Because everything is made possible or made with oil and gas.”

“I mean, for Canada, if we were to displace all foreign oil supplied into the country, we would reduce emissions and save money and increase our energy security as a country, as the world's second largest country, one of the top producers of oil, gas, energy resources in the world.”

“So let's take Canadian know-how, Canadian expertise, let's apply it globally, let's take our standards, apply it globally, on methane and flaring alone, we apply that globally to all oil and gas production, we take about 100 million cars off the road. There's a lot of great examples where we can reconcile an immediate reduction in emissions with still supporting the most responsible supply to meet that consumer demand, of course.”

“I think we can balance, I think we are balancing in Canada, energy and the environment and energy resources and the economy. That's why I believe the world needs more clean energy.”

“We can start by, you know, sort of having that balanced conversation, reducing the polarization by simply raising everyone's education about how the world works and where that energy and those resources should come from, should come from Canada.”

This episode was recorded on November 19th, 2021.

Links:

Canada Action: CanadaAction.ca

All About the RESOURCE - Diving into Resources with Stuart Muir

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 03:30:00 -0700

On this episode of the People Planet Prosperity Podcast, We are joined by Stuart Muir CEO and Founder of Resource Works. This episode was recorded on November 7th, 2023.

Protecting Canada’s Vital Natural Resource Sector

Sat, 01 Nov 2025 03:30:00 -0700

Welcome to the People Planet Prosperity Podcast. On today’s very first episode, Canada Action founder Cody Battershill sits down with Lynn Exner, Chief Operating Officer of Canada Action, to discuss Canada’s role in balancing increasing global resource demand with ongoing calls for environmental protection and sustainability. Canada’s national resources are critical not only to our economy, but also to the well-being of families and communities across the country.

Today Cody and Lynn dive into these important issues, and talk about why the world needs more Canadian resources. They discuss the many reasons to be proud of Canadian natural resources, understanding and appreciating the men and women who work hard to extract these resources across the country, and Canada's innovative role in environmental, social, and governance regulations. Cody offers his thoughts on the national impact if we were to shut down our mining, forestry, oil and gas, and agriculture sectors, and finally, they explain the importance of working together so that we can take the best possible care of our people, our planet, and our prosperity as the demand for Canada’s natural resources only continues to grow moving forward. This episode was recorded on November 19th, 2021.

To learn more about supporting Canada’s vital natural resource sector, please visit CanadaAction.ca.

Episode Highlights:

The importance of Canadian resources
Genesis behind the “I Love Canadian Mining,” “I Love Canadian Mining and Gas” movement
How understanding and appreciation for natural resources differs across provinces
Being familiar with the value of different resources across the country can help mitigate fear and confusion, and bring people together to work toward common goals
The power of hearing people’s stories to help humanize faces behind the industry - the men and women who are working hard to provide for their families and support their local communities
The reason for choosing Canadian natural resource products
Canada is leading on the environment, worker safety, human rights, social progress, resource governance, and the equitable distribution of those economic benefits
HowCanadaRanks.com
Canada’s innovation and guiding the way for other countries to follow suit (e.g., carbon capture utilization and storage technology)
Familiarity with our resource sector will help people truly appreciate it and strive for continual improvement together
Involvement of First Nations and Indigenous communities with forestry, mining, oil and gas industries
The need for natural resources will only continue to grow in the coming years, and Canada will continue to play a pivotal role - we have the resources, the people, the innovation, and the know-how
The impact on Canada if we were to lose our natural resource sectors
The world needs the resources we have, and it’s important to work together to take care of our people, our planet, and our prosperity

Quotes:

“There was definitely not enough perspective on Canada's place in the world - how we live, where energy comes from, where food comes from, where houses come from, where iPhones and the internet [come from] - what makes it all possible. And I just didn't feel like there was enough pride, to be honest, in what we were doing and how we were doing it.”

“It's never about East versus West, or us versus them, or solar and wind versus oil and gas. It's not about breaking people apart. We need to be talking about bringing people together and reducing friction and polarization and misunderstandings and misinformation, to raise the level of decorum so that all provinces can truly understand what they have, and how fortunate those local communities are.”

“There are ways that we can mitigate our environmental impacts across all resource sectors and all resource production across the country that we continue to do. But we need to take the fear out of it.”

“We have to continually remember that when we talk about resources, we're talking about the women and men in these local communities, who are putting on their steel-toed boots and their hard hats and going to work.”

“Canada has a unique position in the world, to be able to provide the resources that are in demand, and with growing demand, from a position of environmental sustainability, and a position of continual improvement. And that’s really the Canadian way.”

“We can be really proud of our ability to share our innovation and our knowledge with other places so we can all improve.”

“We're not just producing resources just because - we're producing resources that are in demand.”

“If we shut down Canadian agriculture, we're going to be importing all of our food, and we're not going to have security, we're not going to have reliability, we're not going to have the best possible pricing with the highest possible environmental impact, highest possible environmental levels of production with the lowest possible impact.”

“It's important to note that we are not perfect, but we are always trying to get better. And that's really something we should be proud of.”

“We should be trying to understand people from different parts of our country, knowing that in every region, we are taking good care of our people, of our planet, and our prosperity. And the resources are part of that.”

Links:

Canada Action CanadaAction.ca

Canadian Resources: Speaking about the versatility of Canadian Energy with MP. John Aldag

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 14:30:00 -0700

Learn all about Canadian Resources and Energy with MP. John Aldag who stands on the committee of Natural Resources, in this Special episode of the People Planet Prosperity Podcast. This episode was recorded on October 16th, 2023.

Red Gold: Lobster, livelihoods, and an OCEAN of opportunity

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 03:30:00 -0700

Learn All About the Canadian Lobster Market and how it's one of Canada's great resources on this fantastic episode of the People Planet Prosperity Podcast with Geoff Irvine, Executive Director of the Lobster Council of Canada. This episode was recorded on October 3rd, 2023.

The Power Beneath Our Feet - Talking Geology with Simon Haynes

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 03:30:00 -0700

On this new exclusive episode of the People Planet Prosperity Podcast, We are joined by Simon Hayes, President of the Canadian Energy Geoscience Association, Speaking on Geoscience and its benefits that it brings to Canada and across the World! This episode was recorded on October 23rd, 2023.

Debunking Nuclear: Finding out the truth about Nuclear Power with Chris Gully

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 03:30:00 -0700

Learn all about Nuclear with its unique properties and abilities in this episode with Christopher Gully of the Canadian Nuclear Association. This episode was recorded on September 11th, 2023.

Powering the future: Learning about Energy with Christina Iversen

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 03:30:00 -0700

Learn all about energy in Alberta with Christina Iversen of the Alberta Energy Regulator with this unique and captivating episode. This episode was recorded on September 25th, 2023.

Food for Thought - The Power of Fertilizer with Karen Proud

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 06:00:00 -0700

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Beyond the BBQ - Exploring Propane with Katie Kachur

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 18:10:00 -0700

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Talking w/ Premiers: Talking with Premier of Saskatchewan Scott Moe

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 15:45:00 -0700

Premier Scott Moe joins Young Canadians for Resources (YCR) to discuss natural resources, the role of Saskatchewan in global and domestic energy security, and how Saskatchewan can better use its natural resources to help the country and its own people. Moe touches on multiple relevant issues. This episode was recorded on July 13th, 2023.

Check it out! (EPISODE 1 OF TALKING WITH PREMIERS SERIES)

Innovative Energy: How Canada's Natural Resources Industries are Chasing the Future

Wed, 14 May 2025 03:30:00 -0700

On this episode of The People Planet Prosperity Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Chad Saunders from the University of Calgary. Listen to hear Dr. Saunders share his insights on innovation in Canada's natural resources industries! This episode was recorded on May 14th, 2024.

The Power of Propane, Talking Propane with Shannon Watt

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 03:30:00 -0700

In this special episode of the People Planet Prosperity Podcast, We are joined by Shannon Watt, CEO and President of the Canadian Propane Association! This episode was recorded on April 16th, 2024.

Mashed, Scalloped or Baked. The Power of Potatoes - Talking Agriculture with Ryan Barrett.

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 03:30:00 -0700

On this episode of the people planet prosperity podcast, we are joined by Ryan Barrett is the Research & Agronomy Specialist with the PEI Potato Board. This episode was recorded on February 28th, 2024.

Exploring Energy Security in Canada - Why is it important?

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 03:30:00 -0700

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Agrictulture is AMAZING - Speaking on Agriculture with Michael Harvey

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 03:30:00 -0700

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The Power of Pork - Canadian Pork Council of Canada

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Food Needs Fuel EP. 1 - Rafferty Farms

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 03:30:00 -0700

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TRAILER

Mon, 24 Jun 2024 09:30:00 -0700

The People, Planet, Prosperity Podcast, presented by Canada Action and Young Canadians for Resources.

Together, we can do a whole lot more, than apart.

Join us for balanced and informed conversations that matter in relation to our future, our people, our planet, and of course, OUR PROSPERITY!

For safer, cleaner, and more sustainable futures!