Environment Committee on Feb. 12th, 2026

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

I'm not suggesting that we hold you back. I'm suggesting that we're responsible in the way we roll these out, and that we make sure we're protecting Canadians. I'm not suggesting that we don't move forward, Minister, with all due respect, but—

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

[Inaudible—Editor] actually moving forward on getting EVs built here in Canada and making sure that Canadians have rebates to buy those vehicles and that we have affordable vehicles.

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

My time is up.

[The Chair, Liberal, Angelo Iacono]

Go ahead with one last comment. I'm being flexible today.

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

It's okay. I'm fine.

[The Chair, Liberal, Angelo Iacono]

Thank you very much.

Mr. St‑Pierre, go ahead.

[Eric St-Pierre, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Thank you.

First, Minister, thank you for acknowledging Tumbler Ridge yesterday. It's been a very difficult moment for everybody, including me. I have two young daughters of six and 10, so thank you for acknowledging the tragic losses and the hard time Canada is going through right now.

Second, despite the obstructive behaviour of the opposition, I would like to congratulate you on the auto strategy. Our committee has been doing a lot of work around the EV availability standard, and a lot of the findings.... Actually, one from our colleague was about the lack of charging infrastructure in Newfoundland, which our government is addressing with a $1.5-billion loan through the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

I just want to commend you for the very exciting auto strategy announcement last week.

I will continue in French, if I may.

You've also appeared a number of times before the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, so thank you for your generosity.

I'll ask you a question about the topic we're discussing today, clauses 595 and 596 of Bill C‑15.

How do you think these clauses can contribute to better air quality and a healthier and less toxic environment?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Thank you for the question.

I also thank you for your first comment. This is an opportunity for all of us in Canada, whether we have children or not, to reflect on the impact of violence in our communities.

With respect to your question on Bill C‑15, it's about finding ways to work better with provinces and territories to make sure that the policies we have in place are working well. We have a very large country, and things can work differently in each region. Therefore, it is very important to be able to enter into equivalency agreements with the provinces to ensure that everyone can achieve common objectives at the same time. Everyone has the same goals and wants to achieve them, but the best ways to achieve them may differ from one region of the country to another. The amendments proposed here are intended to facilitate negotiations and equivalency agreements.

I would say that it goes even further. Currently, these agreements can last up to five years. This means that we have to restart negotiations every time, which is a lot of work. The ability to enter into longer-term agreements will help us have agreements that work better, and it will be less wasteful. I'm sorry, I'm trying to find the word in French.

[A voice]

There will be less waste.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

That's it, thank you.

[Eric St-Pierre, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

I know the regulations are fairly technical, but can you talk about the positive effects these changes would bring?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

First, as I said, one of the big changes has to do with the duration of agreements. Previously, each agreement could last a maximum of five years, which meant that negotiations had to begin again with the province or territory very shortly after the agreement was concluded.

Let's take the example of the clean electricity regulations, certain provisions of which will come into force in 2035. If the negotiations started now, the agreement would end before 2035. So it's a matter of finding ways to work with the provinces to achieve long-term objectives. Certain provisions of these regulations are expected to come into force as late as 2050. The possibility of having longer-term agreements will help us better plan with the provinces and territories. In addition, we'll waste less time constantly starting negotiations all over again.

[Eric St-Pierre, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

You previously mentioned the methane regulations, which require a lot of collaboration with the provinces.

With regard to the amendments proposed here concerning equivalency agreements, you talked a bit about the collaboration between the federal government and the provincial governments, but regarding clauses 595 and 596, could you comment on the work you're doing to keep the dialogue going with the provinces and give us some examples of your approach?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

The story on methane is so important, as it's an area where we can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, the regulations we implemented in December will reduce emissions in Canada by 400 megatonnes. So that's a big change.

That said, to better continue this work, we have agreements that have already been reached with the provinces on other regulations, and that helps us operate better.

Let's take the example of Alberta, with which we had a methane equivalency agreement.

They overperformed.

So that enables the province to work based on the way things operate in its region, and we've achieved very good results for the country.

[The Chair, Liberal, Angelo Iacono]

Thank you, Minister.

Thank you, Mr. St‑Pierre.

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

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Thank you for being here today, Minister.

I have a few things to discuss. I'll start by following up on the issue of Chinese electric vehicles.

The Bloc Québécois has introduced a bill to prevent products made using forced labour, particularly child labour, from entering Canada. We have a number of concerns about what's happening in China right now.

Have you looked at that bill? Do you think it would be worthwhile for Canada to have assurances that these vehicles are not made using forced labour?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

There are two things I would say about that.

First, in Canada, we have significant protections for workers. When we talk about attracting foreign investment here, we're always talking about how we're going to continue not only to protect these workers, but also to have good wages for them.

On the one hand, our government already has policies to verify how things work in certain countries and to ensure that there are protections. It's always important to think about that, around the world.

We have a human rights approach.

On the other hand, it's important to ensure that we have good jobs here in our country and that we protect our workers.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

I was really talking about vehicle production in China. The bill we introduced aims to ensure that there is no forced labour, particularly for children. Currently, there is no such measure on the federal side.

Will you at least commit to looking at the bill and telling us whether it's a measure that Canada would like to implement?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

I'm always prepared to look at what you are proposing, and I think everyone here around the table agrees that we need to protect workers around the world, but especially….

In short, yes, I am prepared to look at that.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Okay. We'll wait for a response from you on that.

In terms of vehicles, there are currently barriers to the entry of European electric vehicles, including the fact that safety standards aren't considered equivalent. That is one of the reasons why we have fewer European vehicles here in Canada, compared to what they have in Mexico or elsewhere in the world.

Can you assure us that this measure will be corrected to allow European electric vehicles to enter the country?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

I would like to begin by reminding you of what we have done. There are the Chinese vehicles you're talking about, but there's also everything we're doing to better build the vehicles here. On the affordability front, we've reintroduced the electric vehicle rebate, making it easier for Canadians to buy electric vehicles. That's what we're doing when it comes to affordability. We're trying to build those vehicles here and we're offering a rebate.

We're also trying to reach agreements so that more businesses can set up here. Affordability is important, but we also need good jobs. So I'm also interested in how we can make sure we build those vehicles here.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

However, when it comes to importing vehicles more specifically, are you aware of the fact that the entry of a number of European vehicles is blocked because of safety standards that aren't considered equivalent?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

I don't know if it's a matter of safety or if it's more a matter of how European countries calculate greenhouse gas emissions.

Once again, when we talk about vehicle affordability, I'm thinking of the people who work at Bécancour, for example, who will build vehicles here in Canada. I want to make sure that we have good jobs here in Canada to build the vehicles of the future. We have a good industry, as evidenced by the Bécancour example. So it's a matter of finding ways to work better to ensure that, in addition to thinking about affordability by offering rebates.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Will you commit to looking at the standards with Transport Canada, among others, to ensure that vehicles produced in Europe have access to Canada right now?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

I would say that how it's going to be implemented and how it's going to work is more a Transport Canada issue.

What I'm saying is that, as a government, we'll look at affordability by offering rebates and figuring out how to build those vehicles here in Canada.