Good morning and thank you, Chair and members of the committee, for inviting me to appear here today.
My name is Cherith Sinasac. I am the director of standards and government affairs at Electro-Federation Canada, commonly known as EFC.
EFC is a national not-for-profit industry association representing over 230 member organizations that manufacture, distribute, market and sell, as well as service, electrical and automation products. Our member organizations manufacture everything from grid equipment to intelligent building systems, as well as the full range of equipment that is essential for zero-emission vehicle charging infrastructure.
With the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, Canada committed to achieving net-zero by 2050. This commitment was reaffirmed by Prime Minister Carney earlier this month.
Let me be clear; electrifying transportation is essential to meeting that goal. It is essential, also, for enabling long-term economic competitiveness during the global energy transition to electrification.
A key driver of EV adoption is the availability, reliability and accessibility of charging infrastructure. Investments in charging infrastructure only occur when there are clear and consistent policy signals that give the industry confidence to plan, build, scale and invest in local capacity.
EFC represents the entire electrical supply chain. This supply chain is globally integrated. Here's why that matters.
Right now, the whole world is electrifying at the same time. Manufacturers must decide where to allocate limited global production of chargers, transformers, switchgear and other critical components that are going into this infrastructure. When governments provide policy certainty, countries receive higher priority in the global allocation. When the policy is unclear, those resources are allocated elsewhere, and the investments here in Canada will not be made.
Without clear and stable demand signals, Canada risks having fewer available products, higher costs, longer lead times and delayed infrastructure deployment. These impacts will cascade. They impact affordability, providing Canadians with fewer choices, not more.
The EV availability standard provides exactly the type of long-term predictability and long-term signal that manufacturers need to allocate supply to Canada. It allows us to make new investments in capacity, including materials, workforce and logistics. Let's put it simply: Policy certainty is market certainty.
Across the electrical and automation industry, companies are operating under the assumption that Canada will maintain its regulatory trajectory. If Canada chooses to backtrack and abandon the standard or weaken it significantly, we will miss out on critical economic development opportunities, lose jobs and miss out on investments. The impacts would be felt down our supply chains by manufacturers of chargers, transformers, switchgear, battery storage systems and other critical components. Private investment in charging infrastructure will stall because there will be a lack of business confidence.
EFC recommends that the government pause at the 2032 compliance ratio of 83%. This will provide the sector and the supply chains with the confidence for further investments. Doing so will provide Canadians with a choice: Those who would like to access an EV can do so, and those who would like to maintain ICE vehicles—internal combustion engine vehicles—will still have the ability to do that as well.
The EV availability standard is not merely an emissions policy. It is an economic strategy, and it is a supply chain signal. EFC encourages the government to maintain the strength of EVAS.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak here today. I look forward to all your questions.