Evidence of meeting #16 for Environment and Sustainable Development in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was evas.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Ellis Ross Conservative Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Then there are no recycling costs passed on to the consumer, as with a rubber tire or a pop can. There's nothing transferred to the consumer.
President, Global Automakers of Canada
There isn't, currently. There are some provinces that are looking to try to do that, trying to equate an electric vehicle battery that's thousands of pounds to an AA battery, but there's no comparison whatsoever. You're not going to find EV batteries in any sort of waste stream, if you will.
Conservative
Ellis Ross Conservative Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
We've been compared—in terms of the failings of our EV mandate—to Norway, but Norway has five million people, compared to Canada's 40 million people, and the geography is very different. Norway has 30,000 square kilometres, compared to almost 10 million square miles of Canada, not including the marine areas.
Norway has been praised for its recycling ability, and that's something that Canada should duplicate, but Norway has a stockpile of batteries. It can't keep up. The market is trying to address this, but in the meantime, it's been characterized as a ticking time bomb, given that the components that go into a battery—mainly lithium—can cause a fire that you can't put out. We've already seen this in battery plants in California and Korea. The storage of batteries causes a fire risk. Mainly, what you do is just let them burn out. That same fire is actually releasing noxious gases.
If we go full-scale with the mandate, which B.C. has already dropped, and depending on Canada.... Do we need a national strategy, not only for the environmental issues surrounding the storage or recycling of batteries, but also for the safety of our communities? Do we need a national strategy to recycle and store batteries in Canada?
President, Global Automakers of Canada
To a certain extent, we did that with the program we put in place, to make sure that the situation you're talking about doesn't occur.
With respect to Norway, one thing I would say is that Norway had a value-added tax. When they removed that tax, EVs became cheaper than gasoline-powered vehicles, which has been largely responsible for the adoption of electric vehicles in Norway.
Conservative
Ellis Ross Conservative Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
I'm talking about the storage of batteries that they can't keep up with. Their government has been praised for establishing a recycling plant, but the storage of batteries is going to become an issue for them, especially if it catches fire. We have thermal runaway similar to what we've seen in Korea and California, for a battery fire you can't put out.
Does Canada need a strategy for recycling batteries for environmental issues, as well as safety issues?
President, Global Automakers of Canada
It's part of what could be contemplated in the EVAS review that we're talking about now.
Conservative
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Angelo Iacono
Thank you very much.
Mr. Greaves, the floor is yours for five minutes.
Liberal
Will Greaves Liberal Victoria, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to all of the witnesses for being here today.
Mr. Adams, I'd like to ask you a bit more about your members and some of the positions they've had in different jurisdictions on the question of EV adoption. Do your members have the same views on an EV standard in Canada as they do in other markets, such as the European Union?
President, Global Automakers of Canada
I'm aware of the standards they have in Canada. Without more research, I honestly don't have a line of sight into their standards or their position in Europe.
Liberal
Will Greaves Liberal Victoria, BC
My understanding is that some of those automakers have different targets that they're pursuing in different jurisdictions. That makes a lot of sense, because they're responding to the political and economic signals they're getting from governments in those different jurisdictions. We've heard a great deal today about supply and demand. We understand the way market signals work. We understand the way incentives work.
In the context of the concern you've raised about soft demand for electric vehicles among Canadian consumers, is it your view that governments maintaining support in the form of subsidies or other tools for consumers would help maintain and bolster that demand in a way that would then make it more cost-effective for your members?
President, Global Automakers of Canada
I think it would help, but it's not a solution to the whole problem of waning demand. It would help, though.
Liberal
Will Greaves Liberal Victoria, BC
It would contribute positively, though, to maintaining that demand in a way that would make the production of those vehicles more cost-effective for your members.
President, Global Automakers of Canada
I don't know about the cost of production, but it would certainly make the cost for consumers more affordable.
Liberal
Will Greaves Liberal Victoria, BC
Is part of the difficulty, then, that we are having in the Canadian market with respect to EV adoption actually about the inconsistency in our regulatory environment, and indeed the very overt efforts by some political parties, some politicians and some subnational governments to push back against this direction and impede and slow down the transition toward clean energy and electric vehicles, which they profess to support?
President, Global Automakers of Canada
The federal government has always had greenhouse gas emissions standards. With the environment being a shared jurisdiction, the federal government has allowed the provinces to make their own determination on zero-emission vehicle mandates, for instance. I think provincial governments have looked at what makes sense for their particular circumstances.
From a manufacturer's perspective, as I said in my remarks, if we're going to have a ZEV mandate, we would favour one national mandate.
Liberal
Will Greaves Liberal Victoria, BC
Thank you.
The final question will be for Mr. Côté.
Good afternoon, Mr. Côté.
From a consumer and market perspective, what would be the effects of delaying or easing the zero-emission vehicle availability standard on the availability of electric vehicles, as well as on wait times for buyers across Canada?
Chairman of the Board of Directors, Association des véhicules électriques du Québec
Are you talking about a potential slow-down in the transition?
Chairman of the Board of Directors, Association des véhicules électriques du Québec
I believe that if people were informed, they could still make the transition. However, people are very affected by all the standards and supports, so until we reach a higher percentage, they will have to be kept in place to maintain the initial momentum.
Liberal
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Angelo Iacono
I would like to thank the witnesses for their testimony today.
The witnesses are now excused. Thank you.
The meeting is adjourned.