Staffer who joined Tesla not involved in rebate talks

Murray says ex-employee worked in environment and followed letter of the law

The government is getting a rough ride over new $14,000 subsidies for buyers of some “luxury” electric vehicles at about the same time the environment minister’s chief of staff left to work for Tesla.

“It doesn’t pass the smell test,” Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown said Thursday, after his party raised concerns about the grant rising from $3,000 under a previous program.

“You’ve got someone that is leaving a minister’s office and going to a company that is now benefiting from these decisions.”

Ian Myrans, the former chief of staff to Environment Minister Glen Murray, left the government in February for the high-end electric vehicle maker, Conservative MPP Steve Clark told the legislature’s question period.

Murray said the electric vehicle rebate program is not administered by his office but by the Ministry of Transportation, and insisted there was no conflict of interest.

“First of all, Ian didn’t work for the minister of transportation who made the decision. The decision on this was made almost a year ago ... it wasn’t a decision he was directly involved in,” said Murray.

“As soon as Ian was aware — and that was quite recently — that he was going to go pursue a position in the private sector, he immediately ... went to the integrity commissioner and rules were put in place about his involvement,” Murray added.

“He followed the very letter of the law and the spirit of it.”

All Tesla models qualify for the highest Ontario government incentive of $14,000, which also applies to cheaper vehicles such as the Ford Focus EV BEV (battery electric vehicle), the new Chevrolet Bolt, the Kia Soul EV BEV and the Nissan Leaf.

The size of electric vehicle subsidies, which start at $3,000, depends on several factors, including battery capacity and the number of passengers carried.

A Tesla Model S sedan can cost in the range of $90,000 to $100,000. Under the previous subsidy program, cars such as Teslas in the $75,000-to-$150,000 price category qualified for a smaller $3,000 rebate.

Murray’s office said the decision to remove the $3,000 cap on that price category was made in mid-2016, several months after the new rebate program was first announced. It is retroactive to Jan. 1.