The Global Automakers of Canada advise collaboration, not confrontation, to meet vehicle emission reduction goals in Canada, according to a news release.
The comment stems from an event that occurred on April 21, or rather, the comparison between two events. The first was a demonstration of collaboration that saw both the Ontario and federal government announce what the GAC called “the largest single investment in Canadian automotive history” with the Volkswagen plant in St. Thomas, Ont.
The same day, Benoit Charette, who is Québec’s Minister of the Environment, the Fight Against Climate Change, and Wildlife and Parks, announced proposed changes to the province’s zero-emissions vehicle mandate. According to the GAC, these changes are “more stringent than what had initially been presented mere months ago to the automotive industry for consultation.”
“We’ve been trying to have a dialogue with the Minister for the last year on how best to reach our shared goal of reduced emissions from light‐duty vehicles, but it is hard to have a dialogue with a government that isn’t willing to participate,” said David Adams, President and CEO of the Global Automakers of Canada, in a statement.
He added that the newly revised targets proposed by Québec could not have taken into consideration the more “profound emissions reductions and electrification that will occur” as a result of Canada adopting a draft greenhouse gas regulation proposed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency on April 12. “So the targets are at best half‐baked,” said Adams.
“It is equally puzzling to the industry how, during a time of high inflation and high interest rates, that the minister is proposing revised targets that, by his own admission, will increase the price of vehicles to Québec consumers for the next seven years,” said Adams in a statement. “Business needs certainty and collaboration. Putting forward two revisions of their ZEV standards — each increasingly more stringent — over the course of two years demonstrates neither.”
In referencing the Volkswagen plant announcement delivered by Ontario and federal governments on April 21, Adams said collaboration and sincere dialogue are what yields results.
