Evidence of meeting #30 for Industry and Technology in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was china.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ben Carr
We will now begin the second hour of the meeting.
We have two new witnesses joining us here in person. From Beachman Motor Company Ltd., we have Benjamin Robert Taylor, chief executive officer. From the Canadian Association of Moldmakers, we have Nicole Vlanich, executive director.
Witnesses, you'll each have up to five minutes for opening remarks, following which we will have questions from the members who are before you today.
With that, Mr. Taylor, we'll start with you for five minutes.
Benjamin Taylor Chief Executive Officer, Beachman Motor Company Ltd.
Thank you very much.
First of all, I'd like to thank the committee and recognize you for inviting me to be here today. It's very exciting. It's also my first time engaging with the government. To be doing it at the highest level is an excellent honour for us.
To introduce myself, I'm the co-founder of Beachman. We are a Canadian start-up that produces e-bikes and electric motorcycles right in the heart of Toronto. We've been doing so for five years now, although it's a project I've been working on for over 11 years.
Mr. Bardeesy has had the pleasure of meeting us and seeing our factory in person. We encourage anyone who's interested to come pay us a visit and see the bikes being made.
We are the first company of our kind, at least in a very long time. Last year, we became the first recipient of a federal motorcycle manufacturing licence in over 80 years. The last company to receive one was Bombardier. It was the first company to ever receive one.
Chief Executive Officer, Beachman Motor Company Ltd.
Thank you very much. We're in a small group of two.
It was a long and arduous process to receive that. There's lots we could talk about around the barriers to new entrepreneurs in joining the EV market in Canada and the ways we can reduce those barriers.
We're very proud to be there. As of November, we've sold over 1,000 electric motorcycles since our founding.
Our company has a long history. We started as two men in a shed building electric bikes in a backyard. We now have an 8,000 square-foot warehouse and headquarters where we produce bikes and ship them internationally, selling into the United States and Costa Rica. This year, we're opening up sales in the European Union.
This week, we were featured on the front page of The Globe and Mail and in an excellent five-page story in the Financial Post, which I encourage you to read for the full story of Beachman.
What I'd love to talk about today is the fact that I stand as an entrepreneur trying to enter the EV industry in Canada, assembling vehicles in Canada.
I believe the world is at an inflection point. The transition to EVs will have casualties, and those casualties will be legacy industries. We're seeing this with the struggle of traditional gas companies to transition to EVs, as well as traditionally strong automotive countries struggling to compete with China, as has been seen today.
I believe that at any inflection point in history, the new niche players and pure players are the ones that rise and thrive in the changing market. I believe investment in that in Canada, in operations like Beachman, will allow us to thrive and transition.
Our business model at this time is pretty simple: We design all of our parts in Canada and we have them manufactured in China. We bring parts in, assemble the bikes here and then export them.
We tried to make a motorcycle in Canada. My partner, Steve, gave himself the leniency of 10 times the cost on a simple part like a frame, which is a piece of tube bent eight times, welded in 12 places and painted. We found that this was impossible. The lowest price that we could get in Canada to produce a good like that, a simple piece of painted metal, was over 20 times what we could produce it for in China, including shipping and tariffs.
I don't think that has to be the way. I think there are ways to encourage a smaller scale and more affordable production in Canada, but it is the reality right now. I think that should be clear about our business model.
Overall, in the EV market, we're facing a moment, as I mentioned, when a player is coming in with global power and global expertise, and we will need to lean on our strengths. I believe that in Canada, as in any western nation, our strengths lie in branding, quality and consumer trust. We saw giants like Honda and Kawasaki in the 1980s and 1990s decimate the North American and other western motorcycle industries. The only players that survived were Harley-Davidson, Triumph and Royal Enfield. They leaned on that same quality, trust and strength of branding.
I think it's similar in the British car industry with players like Land Rover and Aston Martin. They survived when a lot of other western companies failed after the Japanese came in and took over.
I think we're in a similar moment. I believe there are a lot of conversations to be had about how we can encourage new brands that come up, pure EV players that encourage growth in Canada.
I also want to point out that a project we're working on now at Beachman is to create an electric car, a small four-by-four produced in Ontario, Canadian-owned, Canadian-funded, Canadian-built, using our relationships with China to produce the basic components that we can't produce here at an affordable price in order to make a really affordable, competitive consumer good, built and sold domestically. Eventually we would scale that up to be able to export it and represent Canada on the national stage, becoming Canada's first-ever automaker.
With regard to transitioning Canada to being a strong EV producer, as you mentioned, Mr. Vice-Chair, and becoming an electrostate, I believe we're positioned in a very incredible way to become an electrostate. I think now is the time to invest in it and I believe that Canada will be stronger for it, both on the EV side and on things like increasing our power grid, increasing EV and clean energy generation and increasing expertise in manufacturing the hardware, as well as the massive industry that's going to be required for this transition to clean energy, not to mention the national security benefits. We're seeing that countries like Cuba have been completely cut off by the petrostates and are now suffering the consequences.
I think that's a great representation of where I stand.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ben Carr
Thank you very much, Mr. Taylor.
Ms. Vlanich, the floor is yours for five minutes.
Nicole Vlanich Executive Director, Canadian Association of Moldmakers
Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to be here.
Our CAMM members play a critical and foundational role in Canada's manufacturing ecosystem. Mould-making is where production begins. Before a part is made, before a vehicle is assembled, the tooling must first be designed and built. Without mould-making, there is no manufacturing.
Manufacturing contributes over 10% of Canada's GDP and supports approximately 1.7 million jobs. Mould-making sits upstream of the entire system and is closely tied to where manufacturing takes place across Canada and North America. An estimated 70% to 80% of mould-making supports automotive production. This makes our sector highly sensitive to EV policy and, more importantly, to where vehicles are built.
The transition to electrification presents real opportunity. Canada has made important investments in EV production, battery supply chains and advanced manufacturing. These are positive steps. However, to fully realize these investments, the supporting ecosystem must remain engaged.
From our perspective, the key issue is where production occurs. Where a product is built determines whether Canadian industry participates in that work. When vehicles are built outside of North America, the associated tooling, engineering and supply chain work are also located outside North America. In those cases, Canadian manufacturers are excluded before production begins.
Recent discussions regarding imported EVs highlight the importance of scale. The proposed volume represents a significant share, approximately one-third, of projected EV sales in Canada in 2026. At that level, market access becomes market influence. It can shape sourcing decisions, investment timing and supply chain participation, and it has the potential to impact future CUSMA discussions and broader North American competitiveness.
Our industry has already experienced the effects of recent shifts. EV programs that were expected to move forward have been delayed or cancelled after companies have already invested in tooling and engineering time.
This has created a spillover effect across the sector. More companies are now competing for fewer programs, placing pressure on pricing, margins and long-term investment decisions. In an industry where margins are typically 5% to 10%, this creates significant strain.
These impacts extend beyond the automotive sector. When automotive demand slows, it affects overall capacity, capital planning and workforce stability, limiting the ability of companies to invest and diversify.
Our members operate in a global environment and maintain strong international relationships. At the same time, Canada's relationship with the United States remains critical. Canada's economy is deeply integrated with that of the U.S. CUSMA enables tariff-free trade across most goods when rules of origin are met, and it supports highly integrated production across North America.
This is not about limiting trade. It is about aligning policy with domestic capability and ensuring that Canadian industry remains part of the value chain.
There are also environmental considerations. As EV adoption increases, so does the need to manage battery life cycles, including recycling, disposal and environmental compliance. Canada does not yet have a fully comprehensive, harmonized end-of-life framework for EV batteries and vehicles. Current approaches rely heavily on industry-led programs that are not mandatory across all jurisdictions. When vehicles are imported, questions arise around how end-of-life responsibility is assigned, how environmental standards are enforced and whether the burden ultimately falls on domestic systems, municipalities and taxpayers. Our members are looking for clarity and transparency in how these responsibilities will be defined as the EV market grows.
Looking ahead, there is an opportunity to ensure that Canada's EV strategy supports domestic production, workforce development, environmental responsibility and long-term competitiveness. Our members are highly skilled, globally competitive and committed to the future of manufacturing in Canada. Many are small and mid-sized businesses, often family-owned, that provide high-quality, well-paying jobs. What they need is stability, predictability and the ability to participate in the opportunities being created.
A successful EV strategy is not measured only by vehicles on the road, but by whether Canadian industry has been part of making them.
Thank you.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ben Carr
Thank you very much, Ms. Vlanich.
Witnesses, thank you for your opening testimony. We're now going to get into our lines of questioning.
Mr. Falk, the floor will be yours for six minutes.
Conservative
Ted Falk Conservative Provencher, MB
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to our witnesses. Both of your presentations were very interesting.
You have a very interesting business, Mr. Taylor, and I wish you all the best.
Ms. Vlanich, I'd like to begin by asking you some questions, but first I'd like to couch it by quoting a speech in the House of Commons from February 1, 2022, when debating the Speech from the Throne:
Madam Speaker, there is virtually no doubt from any source whatsoever that there is slavery, that the Uighur people are being enslaved, that products are being produced out of that part of China and that the Government of China, directly or indirectly, condones the production of those goods.
You probably don't know who said that, but those comments were made by Liberal member of Parliament John McKay. He served in Canadian Parliament for 27 years.
Today, in this committee, we saw Liberal members of Parliament—Michael Ma and Dominique O'Rourke—discrediting a witness to defend the human rights abuses of China against the Uyghur people, and also—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ben Carr
Mr. Falk, I'm going to have to address this point of order. I'll pause the clock.
Go ahead, Madam O'Rourke.
Liberal
Liberal
Dominique O'Rourke Liberal Guelph, ON
I did ask her to keep her answers short, but I in no way discredited the witness. I simply pointed out that this line of questioning, and that approach, has been used in this committee frequently.
Liberal
Michael Ma Liberal Markham—Unionville, ON
I object that my name is now being broadcast in this fashion. You could call me “a member of the other side”, but you are naming people, and that is not in the rules of engagement we have here.
Liberal
Michael Ma Liberal Markham—Unionville, ON
Well then, Mr. Falk, I take exception to what you're saying—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ben Carr
Mr. Ma, I'm going to take the floor back now.
Okay, I know where this is all going. We have a decision point before us.
We can all go back and look at the testimony from the previous hour to determine what we believe can be taken from that. We can use the time that we have remaining, which is about 30 minutes, to engage in a very interesting conversation with two experts about EV policy in this country, or we can use the time to litigate the previous hour.
Members certainly have the prerogative to determine what they want to do. I just want to encourage us to bring the temperature down, where possible. I hope that we will be able to utilize the expertise of the two people before us to contribute to the report that we will ultimately be presenting to the House of Commons on this important subject matter.
With that, Mr. Falk, I'm going to return the floor to you.
I will just make one note, colleagues, which is that engaging in points of order and other things that encourage discussion outside of the realm of soliciting answers from the experts here does take away from some of the time that we have allotted to us. I just want all members to be aware that if I do have to reduce time, I'll do so judiciously. It will be from all sides around the table. That's just a quick note to draw attention to that.
Mr. Falk, I paused the clock at 4:48. You had six minutes, so that time is remaining for you, sir.
Conservative
Ted Falk Conservative Provencher, MB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
It was just something I had never experienced here in Parliament before, a Canadian politician defending China's human rights abuses.
Let me carry on with my questions.
Ms. Vlanich, your association has publicly said that the federal government's agreement for 49,000 Chinese EVs raises serious questions about industrial competitiveness and manufacturing employment.
Were the mould-makers and upstream suppliers properly consulted before this decision was made?
Executive Director, Canadian Association of Moldmakers
No, and I've been advocating, as the beginning of production, to be consulted in these types of conversations.
Conservative
Ted Falk Conservative Provencher, MB
In fact, the automobile industry was assured that the importing of Chinese EVs into Canada was not on the table.
The one other question that I want to ask before we move on is something that we haven't talked a lot about at this committee.
Have you, as an industry or an association, discussed end of use for EV vehicles? Could you elaborate a little bit on that?
Executive Director, Canadian Association of Moldmakers
Something that is top of mind for our members is the end of life for the vehicles. Currently in Canada, the manufacturers, for the most part, take the responsibility for end of life. What would that look like if we imported those vehicles from China and if those conversations have been had with them, to say that they have that financial responsibility and obligation to do what Canadian and North American manufacturers have agreed to do?
Conservative
Ted Falk Conservative Provencher, MB
Yes. Dealing with electric batteries is going to be very different from dealing with the shredding of automobiles today and recycling that metal.
That's a consideration that you don't feel has been adequately addressed.