COMMISSIONER CHIDES OTTAWA FOR NON-EXISTENT 'JUST TRANSITION' PLAN

 DeMarco said the government has done little to prepare for an expected wave of layoffs in the energy sector as the country moves away from fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas in the coming years.

DeMarco said the government has long promised to produce some sort of "just transition" plan to help affected workers with income and pension support and job retraining. He said the government has been "slow off the mark," has taken "little action" and is woefully "unprepared" for possible mass unemployment.

 Workers perform maintenance on an oil rig in Alberta. (Kyle Bakx / CBC)

He said the government's recent approach to job losses in the coal industry - Ottawa is overseeing a full phase-out of coal-fired electricity by 2030 - leaves much to be desired.

Rather than develop a plan to address the specific needs of laid-off coal workers, DeMarco said the federal government relied largely on the existing employment insurance (EI) program. It needs to take a different approach for other emissions-intensive sectors that are expected to see job losses, DeMarco said.

Without further action, the country as a whole could experience something similar to the disastrous cod moratorium in Newfoundland and Labrador, DeMarco said, which resulted in thousands of lost jobs and the hollowing-out of rural regions in that province.