Environment Committee on Nov. 3rd, 2025

[Megan Nichols]

We're receiving input, as my colleague mentioned, until midnight on November 4. We've had a lot of discussions, so we're hearing a range of views from across industry and from other stakeholders. We'll be taking all of that into account in terms of what options make sense going forward.

[Carol Anstey, Conservative, Long Range Mountains, NL]

Just to build on that, I appreciated the information that you gave about the lower cost to operate. From that perspective, I don't understand why you wouldn't just allow the market to go ahead and transition. If those benefits are really that great, why does the government have to continue to take this approach?

[Megan Nichols]

Again, there are a range of factors. One of them is that, as zero-emission vehicle production is still ramping up globally, if Canada wants to be able to attract a good proportion of that, given our small market size, we need to use all the tools that we have at our disposal to attract them. We hear right now about new models that are coming to market that are not being made available in Canada. The standard is one way of making sure that automakers are bringing that range in place.

[Carol Anstey, Conservative, Long Range Mountains, NL]

How is that going? Where are we?

[Megan Nichols]

Well, the targets have not actually started to apply yet, as you know, and we put a pause on the 2026 one, so we're still in early days.

[Carol Anstey, Conservative, Long Range Mountains, NL]

Okay.

Just as a final thought, a lot of the people in my riding feel this disconnect, especially in rural Canada, with the government. They feel like there's always this top-down approach and their interests aren't being considered. What do you say to people who live in rural communities who don't like the government telling them what kind of vehicle they can drive when they feel that it doesn't suit their needs?

[Megan Nichols]

I wouldn't purport to tell them what to think or what to do. I would just say, again, that I think our goal is to make sure there's a range of vehicles out there to meet every—

[Carol Anstey, Conservative, Long Range Mountains, NL]

I mean specifically as it relates to the language around mandate, I guess.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cut you off. I just wanted you to know where I was coming from.

[The Chair, Liberal, Angelo Iacono]

Thank you very much.

Mrs. Miedema, the floor is yours for six minutes.

[Shannon Miedema, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

Thank you very much.

Thanks for your presentation.

You spoke about later this year in terms of compiling the results during this review. Do you have a specific plan for sharing the initial results of all of this consultation that you're doing right now?

[Mark Cauchi]

I think right now we're still in the review. The government has committed to make a statement before we proceed to CG1. The timing of that statement is still to be determined, but we're hoping that before the end of the year we'll be able to communicate what the results of the review have been.

[Shannon Miedema, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

Can you talk a bit about the review itself? What was the scope or the framework of the consultation? Can you provide any more details on that?

[Mark Cauchi]

I'm happy to do that. The review looked at a number of issues, including the targets themselves, so the level of ambition going out to 2035 and beyond. We also explored the kinds of flexibilities we currently have in place in the regulation and whether those flexibilities should be improved or modified to allow for lower costs in terms of vehicle manufacturing and importation.

We've also looked, obviously, at affordability issues, some of the issues related to price parity in the marketplace, and the competitiveness of the industry overall, wanting to make sure that, as the Prime Minister noted on September 5, the regulation remains fit for purpose and is effective and does not bring undue costs on industry. We're looking at how we lower costs and how we increase flexibility in the short term while still keeping a view to the net-zero targets in 2050, which are crucial for Canada.

[Shannon Miedema, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

Is part of the review looking at the risks of continuing to pause or fundamentally slowing down this transition? Are you looking at the risk of Canada not matching its trade partners' different ZEV mandates and how we'll be able to compete on the global stage? Can you comment on that?

[Mark Cauchi]

That's a valuable and good question. Obviously, Canada's auto sector has to compete globally. While we're highly integrated with the U.S. automotive market, we do see an uptick in EV sales globally, in Europe and Asia in particular. That certainly is something that I think the government is taking into account. Some parties have stressed that regulatory clarity or regulatory certainty is important in the marketplace. We've heard that from some groups, notably from the charging infrastructure community, as well as from some automotive players.

We're definitely looking at all these issues. Obviously, the U.S. situation in particular and the impact of tariffs on Canada's auto sector is a really important factor there. Yes, we're looking at all of that.

[Shannon Miedema, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

I'm thinking about charging infrastructure and the need to have highly functioning connected infrastructure for electric vehicles across the country. I used to work at the local level on the ground, at the city level. Between local governments and indigenous communities and provinces and territories, what's the role of the federal government? What policies or programs are in place to really incentivize the fast-tracking of that connected network that we're still kind of working toward today?

[Megan Nichols]

Thanks very much.

We certainly recognize the need for a robust charging network in order to support the increase of ZEV deployment. We work in partnership with provinces and territories to support that.

NRCan is the lead on that for the federal government. It's invested over $1.2 billion to date in putting fast chargers on the road, with the goal of having about 84,500 in place.

We do also see that the availability standard provides a strong signal to private investors, so they can have certainty, as they make investments, that the demand will be there.

[Shannon Miedema, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

Have you considered anything around the financial business case of the fast chargers?

We were working a lot with the local private sector, and there's just no clear return on investment for putting in those fast chargers. It was more for marketing or for branding, where they might be a B Corp or something like that.

Have you been thinking about how to incentivize those more expensive investments?

[Megan Nichols]

I would defer to our colleagues at Natural Resources Canada to provide more information on that.

Again, it is seen as a little bit of.... At some point, the market will be developed enough that it will be able to make the return on investment on those worthwhile.

[Mark Cauchi]

I would just add that the regulation now does incentivize level 3 charging—DC charging or fast charging—and does offer a credit opportunity there for OEMs if they would like to invest there instead of putting an EV on the road. That is an option now.

We are looking at that particular provision to see whether it needs to be modified in the context of the review. There's ongoing work there.

[Shannon Miedema, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Angelo Iacono]

Thank you.

Mr. Bonin, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Cauchi, you spoke about the various options available to automakers to meet the zero‑emission standard targets. Automakers say that the credit amounts to a $20,000 tax. My Conservative colleagues keep saying this. However, it seems clear that this isn't the case, because other options are available.

Is it really a $20,000 tax?

[Mark Cauchi]

Automakers certainly have the option of obtaining a credit by investing in an infrastructure project. However, this isn't the only option. For example, they can purchase credits from other manufacturers that have surplus credits, such as electric vehicle manufacturers.

You're right to say that this isn't the only option. There aren't any penalties here.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Why do we never hear you, on the government side, publicly refuting the lies being spread all over the place?

Why don't you inform people that it isn't really a $20,000 tax and that other options are available?