We'll be tabling a green economic recovery report, which includes a transportation electrification component. Suppose Canada's entire vehicle fleet were electrified tomorrow morning. My mother always said that nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed. I've never forgotten this motto. We all live on the same planet.
The Bloc Québécois members often say that they don't want to use western oil for whatever reason. We'll still need oil for many years to come, even if our oil consumption decreases, which could be a good thing.
However, electric vehicle manufacturing has an environmental cost. I'm thinking in particular of the rare earths needed to produce and recycle the batteries. Are these costs being assessed?
Of course, the goal is to create jobs in Canada. If the plan is to create these products in Canada, as Lion Electric is doing with buses and trucks, a battery factory will be needed. It takes raw materials to produce batteries, and this has an environmental cost. If, tomorrow morning, Canada's entire vehicle fleet were electrified, this would have an environmental cost. Has this cost been assessed yet?