That I get to say that on the parliamentary record is a real pleasure.
First of all, thanks to all of you for being here. I've been watching the committee all day. It's one of the great things about Parliament that the MPs come together and try to find solutions. We have dealers in your ridings, and we're certainly happy to have the opportunity to talk to you today.
We have 3,500 dealers and 175,000 employees coast to coast to coast, and we literally keep Canadians and Canadian businesses rolling. We sell two million new cars, over three million used cars and do 20 million service and parts appointments yearly. We're very active in all of your communities.
With respect to what's going on with the United States, the Prime Minister has called it a “rupture”, and indeed, auto dealers are right at ground zero for that rupture. We're seeing the impacts. We are being hit not just by the tariffs that have been imposed in retaliation. We're also hit by steel and aluminum tariffs, which are pushing costs up through the roof. I'll say it here, on the record, that we ran our first trade mission down to the U.S. to deliver the message to the U.S. that these tariffs are hurting car dealers on both sides of the border, hurting customers on both sides of the border and hurting the car industry on both sides of the border. We have to be very cognizant of that as we go forward.
I'm going to hit four areas of concern that we need to have addressed while we're under pressure.
The first is the luxury tax. You'll note that the government took the luxury tax off private jets and yachts. We think it's close to nonsensical that we have kept that tax on luxury vehicles.
We've made the argument for a very long time now that we have a perfectly balanced tax system in the country. If you buy a car that costs more, you pay more—and significantly more. That's the way the system should work. The system should not be picking winners and losers. There used to be a luxury tax on jewellery. That was removed. I would suggest to the committee that just for equality, during a time when we're under pressure here, we need to remove the luxury tax on automobiles, just as we've done with other products. The HST is a perfect tax to address that.
Also, the luxury tax is a trade irritant with Europe. The Europeans held off on a trade deal with Australia because of the luxury tax, and the Australians, in response to that, ended the tariff levy and made adjustments for the luxury tax down there. Let's look at it from that lens.
The EV mandate is the next issue that I think needs to be addressed. The government made the right move on eliminating the EV mandate. We're very pleased with that. The Prime Minister's announcement was very welcome. We were very public about that.
The challenge now is that we need a process that consults with the manufacturers on real and realistic targets for a path forward for the future. The problem with the last EV mandate wasn't that we needed an EV transition. Dealers are all in for an EV transition, but we have to do it at a pace that makes sense for Canada. That can be done only through consultations with the manufacturers.
I'll underline for you the third issue, which is in the heavy truck industry. We have a real problem with the 2027 model year. The U.S. administration has moved out of alignment with Canada. As it stands now, without a really aggressive regulatory fix on the Canadian side, we will not be able to sell any heavy-duty trucks in Canada, starting in model year 2027. The orders for model year 2027 start at the end of August, and we are facing a crisis. We sell 30,000 18-wheeler semi-trucks a year, and those keep construction, agriculture and mining going. I saw several of them on my way up to Parliament Hill today. You cannot build Canada without heavy trucks. We need a fix there.
Finally, the technician shortage is an issue that I want to highlight for you. We have a worldwide shortage of technicians. Canada and Canadian dealers have had to resort to bringing in temporary foreign workers in this space: highly-skilled individuals who can repair automobiles going forward. We're working hard to recruit and retain and to support educational institutions, but in the meantime, we need some latitude and an understanding that temporary foreign workers in our sector are important to keep the country rolling. Without them, we won't be able to service police, ambulance and other emergency vehicles. We need a pathway for those temporary foreign workers to stay longer than their original contracts and a pathway to immigration.
Thanks for the time.