Federal action needed to meet EV goal: report

Consumer incentive program urged

Canada will not meet its ambitious target of having zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) make up 100 per cent of new light-duty vehicles sales by 2040 unless the federal government takes specific measures to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles.

That's the conclusion of a just-released Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development report on Canadian EV Policy, one that offers up 13 recommendations, ranging from a national ZEV standard; to the development of ZEV component domestic supply chains; to dedicated funding to train/retrain automotive industry workers.

The report also includes recommendations to bolster the federal EV consumer incentive program, and focus on building codes to help facilitate charging infrastructure installation.

The ZEV standard, or mandate, is by far the most crucial, and controversial, of the recommendations, as it would establish a federal benchmark for the percentage of EVs sold by automakers in relation to ICE-powered vehicles. Not surprisingly, the biggest opponents to ZEV mandates are automotive manufacturers and associations representing domestic and international vehicle makers.

The report recommends that “the Government of Canada work with industry and the provinces and territories to establish a national ZEV standard, while respecting constitutional responsibilities and the deep integration of the North American automotive market.”

Only two provinces, B.C. and Quebec, where the ZEVs have the highest market penetration, have provincial ZEV standards. Eleven U.S. states have them, as do a number of countries in Europe.

Another hot-button issue is EV incentive programs, both at the provincial and federal level, with the committee recommending the federal program expand its coverage to used EVs, and to adopt a “trade-in-old-vehicles-for-scrap” program like B.C.'s Scrap-it Program, which offers $6,000 for a trade-in on an old vehicle toward the purchase of an EV, and $3,000 for a PHEV.

With a federal budget coming, expect to see some of the substance of the report make its way into policies laid out by the Liberal government.