Environment Committee on April 16th, 2026

[Branden Leslie, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

My main concern is, are you building this in a silo? Is the international trade and the international auto strategy involvement, cross-border manufacturing, being considered as you develop these gazetted process regulations?

[Mark Cauchi]

Well, absolutely. I think that was the impetus for the announcement the government made originally around shifting to this type of regulation, which the industry has called for.

[The Chair, Liberal, Shannon Miedema]

Thank you very much, Mr. Leslie.

We will now turn to Mr. Greaves for six minutes.

[Will Greaves, Liberal, Victoria, BC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Good morning, colleagues, and thank you to our witnesses for being here today.

Given some of the recent events occurring in the world, we understand what a difficult time it is for manufacturers, but also for Canadian consumers, whether that's the spike in oil prices due to the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz caused by the United States and Iran, or whether it's the trade war that's been thrust on us by the United States.

I'd rather focus my questions on some of the domestic aspects and the domestic benefits that flow from higher rates of EV adoption. In my riding of Victoria, for example, transportation-related emissions account for around 50% of air pollution in our entire region, and some communities in Canada have even higher rates. Health Canada estimates that traffic-related air pollution contributes to around 1,200 premature deaths annually across the country.

Mr. Cauchi, I'll start with you.

I'm wondering if we could discuss what the health benefits are for Canadians of these newly strengthened GHG standards. How will Canadians benefit in terms of their long-term health outcomes and reduce the strain on our public health care system?

[Mark Cauchi]

I appreciate the question.

Certainly, the evidence is well documented. I believe Health Canada has put out some fairly compelling evidence regarding the costs of air pollution from vehicles in Canada to our health care system and to Canadians as individuals. I think those have been monetized at about $9.5 billion annually. We know that electric vehicles and more efficient vehicles with pollution controls on them do reduce the exposure of Canadians to harmful air pollution. It is not just a carbon dioxide issue. We're talking about things like NOx and PM2.5 ultrafine particulates, etc.

There will be a gain obviously for Canadians at the local level in terms of lower asthma rates and lower instances of cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary disease. That is fairly well documented globally. A shift to electrification is certainly good for the health of Canadians.

[Will Greaves, Liberal, Victoria, BC]

Thank you for that.

In a similar vein that is certainly public health and safety related, I think one of the perhaps less discussed aspects of EV adoption has to do with increased safety for all road users given the lighter mass of electric vehicles as battery technology has become more sophisticated. We've seen not only more energy-efficient EVs entering the market, but also lighter vehicles, which then might have corresponding benefits for road safety and all road users.

Is that something that you could also comment on, Mr. Cauchi?

[Mark Cauchi]

It depends a lot on the vendor, the manufacturer, the importer and the type of vehicle. We certainly are seeing improvements in technology and improvements in safety. In the early years of EV adoption, we did see some concerns about safety issues. Those are definitely in decline, and we see a much broader range of weights and vehicle types being deployed. I think we have well over 100 EV models now available in Canada.

I would defer, though, the question around safety to Transport Canada, which is responsible for vehicle safety. It's probably not something that I should get too far down in the weeds on.

[Will Greaves, Liberal, Victoria, BC]

Fair enough.

Switching gears slightly, I'll direct my next question to Ms. van der Kamp. If any of the other witnesses would like to respond as well, they should please feel free to do so afterwards.

I'd like to drill in on what the estimated cost savings are for the average Canadian household, given the increased cost of fuel and given the market price of EVs now. Can you give us a sense of what the long-term economic benefits to households would be of switching to an EV and saving for themselves those high costs of fuel that we're seeing at the pumps?

[Anna van der Kamp]

As I mentioned, you would probably be spending on average in Canada—electricity rates vary across the country, of course, so it really is a regional issue—only about $800 to charge your EV at home, if you could do that all the time, whereas filling a gas car right now, a conventional ICE car at about $1.50, which also varies across the country, is about $3,000.

That gives you the savings you would get annually.

[Will Greaves, Liberal, Victoria, BC]

Right now the price of gas in Victoria is around $2.15, so that $1.50 sounds pretty good.

Ms. van der Kamp, you also discussed the difference between dense urban, more suburban, remote and in some cases rural regions. Do you have any sense of what the different cost savings would be for Canadians living in those types of communities? Will remote drivers who obviously have much longer distances to cover gain more savings from EV adoption as a result of their longer commutes?

[Anna van der Kamp]

That adds up for certain when you're discussing the level 2 charging at home. If you have to do extremely long distances and you do rely on some public charging, then it could be somewhere in between. As I said, public charging is more expensive. It's also extremely dependent on the province, actually, so it depends on where you live. It goes anywhere from 32¢ a kilowatt hour up to 65¢ a kilowatt hour, but for the most part, I would say that even the folks in rural areas with home charging will benefit more.

[Will Greaves, Liberal, Victoria, BC]

Thank you.

Thanks, Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Shannon Miedema]

Thank you, Mr. Greaves.

Mr. Simard, you now have the floor for six minutes.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Mr. Cauchi and Mr. Tessier, I was surprised while listening to your opening statements, as you both talked about flexibility for the industry, the opportunity to make the automotive sector more competitive and resilient, and a simple outcomes-based approach. Consequently, I get the impression that government standards are dictated more by industry needs than by a desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. I'll explain why.

I usually sit on the Standing Committee on Natural Resources. When it comes to carbon pricing, a number of people in the energy sector have told us that a certain degree of predictability is needed to make major technological shifts. What is being done with electric vehicles is undermining that predictability because you're changing the entire set of industry standards and perhaps acting in a somewhat complacent manner.

The crisis we are experiencing is not permanent; sooner or later, Mr. Trump will no longer be the President of the United States. However, I understand that you are adjusting and that you are doing so in response to a problem that is, in fact, permanent. Climate change is permanent. Therefore, you must have your own indicators, each of you.

If we had kept the old standards in place, which would have increased the availability of electric vehicles, we would have achieved x result in 2030 or y result in 2050. If we change these standards to implement them differently, with less ambitious targets, that means that, in 2030 or 2050, we will inevitably achieve different greenhouse gas reductions.

Do you have that data? If so, is it possible to provide it to the committee?

[Mark Cauchi]

Thank you for your question.

The Department of the Environment has modelled the impact of this government announcement. It's a preliminary model, but it's important to recognize that the regulations we've implemented, and which are now in effect, have led to many significant environmental outcomes, including a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of more than 50% per vehicle, on average. That's very important.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Cauchi, I want to make sure I'm following your point.

You're talking about results—

[Mark Cauchi]

I'm talking about the current regulations aimed at vehicle energy efficiency.

The actual vehicle regulations that have existed since 2010 have achieved an emissions improvement and an improvement in efficiency of vehicles by more than 50% on average, so—

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

The government has backed down on certain standards that required the industry to provide electric vehicles.

[Mark Cauchi]

The government has announced that it is going to increase the stringency of those existing regulations. I think the Prime Minister has indicated the government's intent to double the stringency of the existing regulations, so we will see additional improvements in and reductions of greenhouse gases. We will also see increased sales of electric vehicles and conventional hybrids as well as plug-in hybrids. The modelling we have conducted indicates that we'll see important reductions—

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I'm having a little trouble following you.

Looking at the figures for electric vehicles available in Europe, we see that there are about 20 models available for under $40,000. In Canada, there's only one electric vehicle available at that price. If our goal is to increase the fleet of electric vehicles, one of the first solutions would be to ensure that affordable vehicles are available. Personally, I feel like we're not pushing the industry to provide these affordable vehicles: We're reducing obligations and commitments and rolling back standards. Furthermore, to guarantee a market for the industry, we're blocking access to European vehicles that could easily be sold here and that would significantly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

I have nothing against the automotive sector, but we need to be honest with people, with the public. When I take a step back, it gives me the strange impression that, to support the automotive sector, we're having to put the brakes on transport electrification, because the automotive sector is going through something more complex due to the tariff war with the United States. That's the impression I get and, inevitably, that has an impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and on the outcomes you may achieve. We can come back to this in a few moments.

[The Chair, Liberal, Shannon Miedema]

Thank you very much, Mr. Simard.

We will now go to Mr. Ross for five minutes, please.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, witnesses, for your presence and your presentations.

My question is for Mr. Tessier.

Can you describe your role in the deal between the federal government and Northvolt for a $7-billion battery facility in Quebec?

[Benoit Tessier]

Yes. Essentially, the Ministry of Industry, ISED, is responsible for some programs. The SIF program, as you will recall, was in place at the time of the negotiations with some of the battery companies. As you will also recall, the federal government offered a subsidy through that program, which was never ratified, between the federal government and the company. Essentially, we, at the end of the day—

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

I'm asking about your role.

[Benoit Tessier]

My personal role is the policy work behind the auto sector in general, so I advise my colleagues in the program who are managing the program and provide processes.