Environment Committee on Nov. 24th, 2025

[Cherith Sinasac]

Yes. We represent 230 member organizations. Many of these are manufacturers. You may recognize the names of some companies, such as Eaton, Siemens and ABB. Then we represent, obviously, Schneider Electric. These are all global organizations, but they also have Canadian operations. They have Canadian employees. They're making significant investments here in Canada right now to prepare for electrification.

The numbers were actually quite mind-boggling when I put them all on one sheet. ABB is a company from Switzerland, but they have significant Canadian manufacturing. They're developing a $130-million investment in Quebec to produce here in Canada. That is to prepare for the electrification of transportation.

I could go down the whole list here.

[Shannon Miedema, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

What would happen if companies like that lost the policy and market certainty that the EVAS is providing?

[Cherith Sinasac]

When I spoke to our members and asked them what would happen if EVAS went away, they said that EVAS sets the tone for the future of ZEVs here in Canada. Without it, the shift will still happen. It will just be slower and we will be less prepared. We know what happens when we don't prepare our supply chains. We saw that during COVID. This is a situation where we want to make sure we're producing these things in Canada and the investments are coming to Canada.

There will be job losses and there will be decisions. Even this pause right now, I guarantee you, has paused investments in supply chains here in Canada. They're saying let's wait and see.

[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.

I'm going to do the exact opposite of what my Conservative colleagues are doing; I'm going to ask the witnesses questions instead of using all my speaking time myself, so this will be quick.

Ms. Sebileau, can you give us examples of what has been done in Quebec with things like the Roulons électrique campaign to raise awareness, set the record straight and counter disinformation? The federal government has been criticized for doing little or nothing on this.

Is there anything inspiring that you would like to share with us?

I would also ask you to send the committee a summary of what your organization has done, if possible.

[Blandine Sebileau]

Yes, I can certainly prepare a summary. Thank you for that suggestion.

The Roulons électrique campaign started six or seven years ago and just wrapped up. Now we're working with the federal government on electric charging.

The campaign was special because it brought together 12 to 15 partners in electrification, the environment and the EV world, as well as car dealerships that sold EVs. We had a public education platform and we ran advertising campaigns. We were on the ground across Quebec. In every region, we worked with an EV owners' association that organized free test drives so people who didn't have access to EVs could test a few models and learn directly from owners. It was a great way to pass on information and build people's knowledge. It also did a lot to move things forward in terms of EV adoption in Quebec. Test drives really work. I would encourage you to look into that.

In addition, we did all kinds of outreach and we held online conferences. We participated in EV shows and car shows. We talk to individuals to debunk false beliefs and provide information. We also had a guide to all the EVs available in Quebec, which was designed for individuals and organizations.

Believe me, there is an impressive array of vehicles available to meet any need.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

You mentioned that the standard reduces prices by 20%.

Can you tell us more about that?

[Blandine Sebileau]

According to a study done a few years ago by Jonn Axsen, regulations would reduce the cost of electric vehicles by 20%. This is crucial to getting people to adopt EVs. As everyone knows, price is one of the biggest barriers to the adoption of electric vehicles.

I think we also have to educate people about how much money they can save throughout the life of the vehicle. People often look at the purchase price, but we have to convince them that they're going to get their money's worth fairly quickly. In fact, the more you drive, the more you save. I'm not just talking about the cost of gas, but also the maintenance costs. People can save several hundred dollars or several thousand dollars, depending on the financial incentives available. Financial incentives reduce vehicle operating costs by $2,000 to $3,000 per year.

The standard is essential to bringing sticker prices down and changing people's perceptions.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Kindly send the committee Jonn Axsen's study.

You mentioned that 90% of people with EVs don't want to go back to gas. I imagine that percentage comes from a survey. Can you tell us why people don't want to go back to a gas-powered vehicle? Is it just cost?

Please send that survey to the committee as well.

[Blandine Sebileau]

The survey was conducted as part of the Roulons électrique campaign.

That campaign reached people who are already aware of electrification because they already own or use an EV, so high numbers were to be expected. The satisfaction rate or no-return rate is actually 99%, which is really impressive.

Once again, this shows that testing an EV is enough to convince people not to go back to a gas-powered car. Saving money can really make a difference.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

You said that uncertainty, government backsliding and industry campaigns explain the drop is sales.

Can you elaborate on those three aspects?

[Blandine Sebileau]

We've seen a recurring theme since the 1970s: It's hard to work on bringing emissions standards down and it's hard to change things and adopt new technologies.

The Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association created a platform that is spreading misinformation about EVs. We think it's unfortunate that not everyone is working toward the same goal. When entities spread false information, that makes it twice as hard to persuade people.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

You talked about the government backsliding. Do you think the government is partly responsible for the drop in sales?

[Blandine Sebileau]

Absolutely.

Removing financial incentives was a step backward. Uncertainty looms, and people have been waiting since May for subsidies to be reinstated. Minister Joly actually made an announcement about it. In Quebec, sales went down when the government put the incentives on hold, but they went up quickly once the incentives were reinstated.

[The Chair, Liberal, Angelo Iacono]

Thank you, Ms. Sebileau.

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

[Ellis Ross, Conservative, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Over the last 10 years, at least, there's been a national-provincial strategy to electrify Canada and the province of B.C. I was an MLA there when I first found out about CleanBC's mandate to have electric cars mandated as a purchaser's option. That's what they called it, but it wasn't really a purchaser's option, because there was a penalty attached to it. The goal was 90% EVs in B.C. by 2030 and 100% EVs by 2035.

The penalty was a $20,000 charge put on retailers that would then be passed on to consumers, which was very unaffordable. Even without the rebate, it was very unaffordable for low-income earners. As soon as the rebates started being questioned or dropped, people stopped purchasing EVs.

I've heard the argument from the witnesses saying that we should not walk away from the EV mandate. Do the witnesses—I'll direct my question to Mr. Wiseman—think the $20,000 penalty attached to EVs should remain as well?

[Evan Wiseman]

Just to be clear, the EVAS is incredibly flexible in how those compliance components can be accommodated. If a manufacturer doesn't sell enough EVs, they can roll it over, year over year, for up to three years, to come into compliance. They can partner with electric charging companies to further install more charging, and they get credits for that. I believe they get credits for hybrid vehicles as well, so those are many of the manufacturers right now.

I think the key point—

[Ellis Ross, Conservative, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Wiseman, I only have six minutes. The specific question was this. Should the $20,000 penalty to retailers, which gets passed on to consumers, remain as part of the mandate?

[Evan Wiseman]

It doesn't work like that, though, to be clear. There are a lot of flexibilities, and then it's up to the OEMs to decide how they work with it.

I think the key point here, just on our health benefits, is that there are costs today to Canadians, as well, related to—

[Ellis Ross, Conservative, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

I understand that, but my question was specific. I asked the same question in B.C., and basically their answer was that, yes, the penalty will remain. I'm asking because B.C. just dropped their mandate. They said that it wasn't realistic. I'm sure everybody in this room—and in Canada for that matter—wants to see a cleaner future, but it has to be realistic. The B.C. government is saying now that it has to be realistic.

I like your comments in terms of choice and affordability, but it's not much of a choice if there's a markup in cost to either the retailer or the manufacturer, and that gets passed on to the consumer, so with the rebates, the demand starts to go down.

In B.C., we have a problem with the production and supply of electricity. We're probably one of the greenest provinces in terms of providing electricity, mainly coming from dams, for instance. Site C is going to be producing 1,100 megawatts of electricity, and it's not enough for today's needs, let alone future needs. We have a $6-billion northwest transmission line being built in B.C. as well, from Prince George to Terrace, and that's not enough for current demand, let alone future demand. On top of that, we're actually importing electricity from the United States, which questionably produces their electricity from natural gas and coal.

Has your organization done any investigations into how we can increase the production and supply of clean electricity?

[Evan Wiseman]

Absolutely. I'm happy to come back on another study, if you'd like, to engage with that. We'd be more than happy to come back.

[Ellis Ross, Conservative, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

That would be great. Just give me some—

[Evan Wiseman]

Absolutely. The line we always say at TAF is that the cheapest kilowatt hour is the one you don't use, so efficiency is the name of the game to begin with. That's step one. That's the cheapest thing you could start doing today—start with energy efficiency.

From there, you start to go into the deployment of alternative renewable resources. Solar and wind can deploy incredibly quickly. Battery, electric and storage can help, especially with charging during off-peak or overnight hours.

I know that Hydro-Québec is looking to get a lot of its demand response from electric vehicles, as well, in peak shaving and off-peak times. Electric vehicles shouldn't be viewed as just a drain on the system. They are an absolute resource as a battery as well, as part of it—

[Ellis Ross, Conservative, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

No, I'm not talking about EVs. I'm talking about the production and supply, which we're actually deficient in right now in B.C., yet we have the most abundant clean energy. In fact, B.C., right now, has put limits on their electricity use. We talk about a new economy—

[The Chair, Liberal, Angelo Iacono]

Thank you, Mr. Ross.