Environment Committee on Nov. 6th, 2025

[The Chair, Liberal, Angelo Iacono]

Mr. Fortier, I apologize for interrupting.

Could you just lower your mike a bit? Thank you.

[Matthew Fortier]

Is that better? Okay.

I was saying that, yes, absolutely, the suspension of the EV standard and support has created uncertainty.

We also think it's important for the federal and provincial governments to revive their support measures for electric vehicles.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

You're saying that we need a clear plan for 2030. What exactly would a clear incentive plan for the sale and purchase of electric vehicles look like, one that would help us meet emissions reduction targets and send a message that would restore a sense of certainty to the automotive market?

[Matthew Fortier]

To me, a clear plan is one that supports and endorses Canadian content. It's important that the plan include critical minerals from Canada, batteries made in Canada and a Canadian workforce that builds the electric vehicles we drive here in Canada and elsewhere in North America.

I'm not just talking about a plan for the industry to revive the purchase of electric vehicles—which is important, as we were saying, to restore a sense of certainty—but also a plan to have a complete supply chain here in Canada, which would contribute to the North American industry. That's how we're finally going to create an auto industry in Canada for years to come.

That's the kind of plan we want to see.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

We're talking about “zero-emission” regulations.

For example, should there be a requirement to have smaller vehicles, less expensive vehicles, carpooling vehicles? Will simply having regulations automatically bring this about?

[Matthew Fortier]

Of course, it would be nice to have a market offering smaller vehicles, but it's really the market that will give us the signals, it's the market that will speak for itself. If Canadians want to drive trucks, sport utility vehicles, or SUVs, that's their choice. We can build EVs here, since we have batteries with the necessary power, but it's really the market that will decide that. Vehicles in Asia and Europe are smaller. The market is different in North America. We drive trucks and SUVs, and that's not likely to change much in the next few years. That's the market we live in. I wouldn't necessarily want to see regulations requiring Canadians to drive smaller vehicles. We can also build electric vehicles and batteries here. So it's possible.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Ms. Smith, do you have an opinion on that?

[Merran Smith]

Thank you very much.

I would agree that the Canadian manufacturing sector is able to build these cars here. That's what I'd really like to see. That market signal that comes from the EVAS is for the consumers, but it's really sending the signal to the auto manufacturing sector.

I read that the chief economist from the Toronto-Dominion Bank said that it would really be helpful for the North American market to benefit from some competition. That's going to help shake it up, and it might bring in smaller cars. Toyota and Honda, for example, are making electric vehicles. There are compact SUVs available in Europe that aren't available in Canada.

For some of these companies, they already have the models. They just need to bring them to Canada and/or manufacture them in Canada.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Ms. Smith, you mentioned that we risk importing this EV technology if we don't get on board. I think that was the expression you used.

What impact can this have on Canada's economic competitiveness?

[Merran Smith]

That's really one of the most significant things. We have a large auto manufacturing sector. We want that manufacturing sector to stay here. We're having threats from the U.S. It just wants its cars built in Canada, so we need to retool that. We should build cars for Canadians and keep those jobs in Canada.

One of the interesting things with batteries is that we have all those metals and minerals needed to manufacture those batteries. We could be manufacturing them in Canada, so we aren't purchasing them from south of the border or Asia, which is often where we're getting a lot of our electronics and clean technologies right now.

It's really about jobs and investment in Canada. The EVAS is a critical piece of ensuring that we build out that auto sector for today and for the future.

[The Chair, Liberal, Angelo Iacono]

Thank you very much, Mr. Bonin.

Mr. Patzer, the floor is yours for five minutes.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Swift Current—Grasslands—Kindersley, SK]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Ms. Smith, I'm going to go to you really quickly.

Which regulations are you asking the government to repeal, so that we can source needed minerals in a timely fashion in Canada and beef up the industry?

[Merran Smith]

I'm not suggesting that we repeal any regulations. I'm sorry if it came across that way.

I'm asking that we really start investing in our mining sector. There's a lot of talk and work going on to move forward those projects more quickly. That is good as long as we get the right indigenous consents and community support consents. We're seeing some real opportunities in northern B.C., for example.

The mining sector's very keen to electrify in many places. There's a real interest to build out that electrification network and work with indigenous partnerships, for example. We have the metals and minerals. It's really a matter of us doubling down, focusing on this and moving these projects through.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Swift Current—Grasslands—Kindersley, SK]

I've been a member of Parliament for over six years now. I've been part of several studies that have outlined the challenges facing the mining industry in Canada. In every single study, we hear the same thing over and over again: that the regulatory timelines for approvals are one of the single largest drivers of investment out of Canada because of the lack of certainty. Also, there is the fact that cabinet still has a veto. Even with the Major Projects Office, cabinet still has a veto on projects, even if it gets the approval from the province and from local first nations.

Would you not agree that the regulatory environment in Canada is one of the single largest barriers to actually getting this industry going on its feet?

[Merran Smith]

I would say that we definitely have been very slow at getting projects going. There's no question about that. We've been hearing this for decades from multiple governments. In this concierge-type model that helps a company move through the system, one of the challenges that have been identified is that things are in different ministries and sitting on different desks. That contributes to a real slowdown.

Building partnerships with local communities and indigenous nations is really key to all of this; so is creating local jobs and ensuring that Canadians are benefiting.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Swift Current—Grasslands—Kindersley, SK]

Mr. Fortier, are you asking the government to repeal or fix its regulatory approvals process? That way we can get projects going faster so that we can actually be competitive on the mining side.

[Matthew Fortier]

That's a great question, and the answer to that is yes.

We've convened critical minerals task forces over the last couple of years. That has been one of the recommendations. It's a recommendation that you hear a lot, as you just said. The reality, of course, in most developed economies is that it takes a long time to get mines up and going, but it takes too long in Canada.

One of the things I would like the committee to consider is this. You were talking about the future auto sector here. It's not going to just be southern Ontario. It's going to be the west. It's going to be the north. It's going to be the east. It's going to be central Canada. Canada actually has a unique opportunity in the world because we have all of these sectors to combine and to build a supply chain to become essential in a North American auto sector that is electrified. That's just the way it's going. That's the market.

In 10 years, 50% of global sales are going to be electric. North America is not immune to that. We want to engage the mining sector in this supply chain. However, you're absolutely right. We need to speed this stuff up or else we're going to miss that opportunity.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Swift Current—Grasslands—Kindersley, SK]

Mr. Fortier, have you done or has your organization done a study on the impact on tires that EVs have compared to conventional ICE vehicles?

[Matthew Fortier]

No, I have not done that. I have seen that there is greater wear because of weight, but we haven't conducted our own study on that.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Swift Current—Grasslands—Kindersley, SK]

Have you done a study on the impacts to highways and roads from driving heavier vehicles on them?

[Matthew Fortier]

No. There have been some studies done in other jurisdictions. Unless somebody else on the panel knows of this, I haven't seen a great study done in Canada. The reality is that in North America there are so few relative to gas-powered vehicles.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Swift Current—Grasslands—Kindersley, SK]

There are multiple states in the United States that have imposed an EV tax, for lack of a better term, for road maintenance, more or less. I know that my home province of Saskatchewan was the first province, and I could be wrong, but I think we're still the only province that has an EV tax.

[David Bexte, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Alberta does.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Swift Current—Grasslands—Kindersley, SK]

I think Alberta does now, too.

When you fuel up your vehicle, you pay a tax that is wholly directed towards road maintenance and construction, yet you don't get that at an EV charging station. What are your views on those taxes?

[Matthew Fortier]

Personally, my hope is that we create so many jobs through the supply chain that the revenue flows to government coffers so that the tax in question is moot. Where that goes is up to every jurisdiction to figure out.