Transport Committee on May 2nd, 2022

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

I asked my question.

Mr. Adams, did you understand me?

[David Adams]

Yes, I did.

I think I would reiterate some of the comments that have already been made by Mr. Paterson and Mr. Kingston around the Ambassador Bridge in particular. Obviously that caused a great degree of disruption in terms of having all of the five manufacturers in the Ontario region being shut down for a period of time, as well as vehicle manufacturers in the United States. This closure came to the radar screen of the President of the United States as well, so it was an issue that was front and centre for a period of time. I think both provincial and federal officials had to spend a great deal of time to reassure officials in the United States that this was a very infrequent incident and that we're taking measures now to ensure it doesn't happen again, but it is a concern for sure.

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Adams.

Mr. Kingston, would you like to add anything?

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you very much, Mr. Iacono.

Thank you very much, Mr. Adams.

We will now go to Mr. Barsalou‑Duval.

Mr. Barsalou‑Duval, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

My question is for Mr. Kingston.

I asked you earlier what could be done to get more electric vehicles to dealerships and accelerate electrification. You told me there needed to be greater demand.

I have something to say to you about that. I recently contacted two different businesses because I wanted to buy an electric vehicle. I wanted one. I was ready to test-drive one and buy it. I got the same answer from two different businesses, that they were no longer taking orders and that they were sold out. They said vehicles whose price has yet to be announced are already sold out. I have a hard time believing that.

When you turn on the TV, all you see are electric vehicle commercials. However, when you want to acquire one and you make a call to do that, you're told there are none. If there are no electric vehicles, people will buy something else and demand will shift.

Isn't that the root of the problem? Do I have it all wrong?

I will ask you again: What can be done to get more electric vehicles out to dealerships?

[Brian Kingston]

Thank you for the question.

There are couple of things to note. First of all, when you look at the overall fleet, you see that only 0.2% of all vehicles are electric. Sales last year were 5.6%, so yes, we are seeing an increased interest because of all of the new vehicles that automakers are bringing to the market, but we are far off from widespread adoption and acceptance.

The average transaction price of electric vehicles is significantly higher than a gas-powered vehicle, so we need to do more to make this transition work for everybody. We're very far from being.... Even a 20% adoption level is going to be a big climb without incentives that work for all Canadians, as well as more charging infrastructure.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

I'd like to ask you one last question.

You're asking us to increase subsidies for electric vehicles, but you aren't meeting the demand. One would expect that more subsidies would bring up demand.

Why are you asking us for more subsidies if you're already not meeting demand?

[Brian Kingston]

We are currently in a temporary interim supply challenge driven by global forces that are not in Canada's control—namely, a semiconductor shortage.

Regulating sales in an environment where we have not achieved pre-COVID production levels will not resolve inventory issues. That has to work through. It is temporary and it's transitory, and you will see an increase in vehicle inventories once production returns to pre-COVID levels. That's the key, and at that point we have to—

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you very much, Mr. Kingston.

Thank you very much, Mr. Barsalou‑Duval.

Mr. Bachrach, the floor is yours. You have two and a half minutes.

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Suffice it to say that it's frustrating to hear the reluctance on the part of the auto manufacturers. I sincerely hope that this federal government follows through on its promise to bring in mandates for production to get those vehicles onto lots so people can buy them.

I wanted to direct my next questions to Mr. Miller, who's been sitting here patiently listening to all this testimony about electric vehicles, which is probably not super-relevant to the port of Vancouver, although I know it is a major gateway for both imported and exported vehicles.

My question is around the Roberts Bank T2 expansion. This is a very controversial expansion in the estuary of British Columbia's most significant wild salmon river. There was a proposal for industrial development in the estuary of the Skeena River, the second-biggest wild salmon river in B.C., and it also saw widespread opposition. In the case of the Fraser, we've already seen 70% of the estuary impacted by industrialization. We have major problems when it comes to killer whales, wild salmon and all of these things. I understand that scientists have come out with very serious concerns about this expansion.

The port has promised to offset the impact on habitat by building new habitat elsewhere, but we know that this approach is very problematic. In fact, a 2016 study said that of other initiatives to offset habitat loss in the Fraser estuary, only 30% of them functioned ecologically over time. Even in those examples, the number of native species had declined significantly.

In light of this, how are we to trust that the plan that the port has put forward for this expansion will not result in serious impacts on things like migratory birds, shore birds, killer whales, chinook salmon and the other species that have been highlighted, given the situation we're in with that vital ecosystem?

[David Miller]

The panel that reviewed the project and reviewed the science was quite positive that with the proper conditions, this project could in fact go ahead without causing that sort of damage. The most recent intervention by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans indicated that they were now comfortable that in terms of killer whales and in terms of salmon, the approach we're taking and the conditions that are there are sufficient to enable us to proceed with the project without the sort of risk you're talking about.

We have quite a long history as well in terms of building new habitat. We have quite a long history of it, and generally speaking, we have been quite successful at it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you very much, Mr. Miller, and thank you very much, Mr. Bachrach.

Next we have Mr. Jeneroux, who's been waiting patiently.

Before I pass the floor over to Mr. Jeneroux, I would just like to say, Mr. Kingston, that I know you have a hard stop. We appreciate your presence here today. On behalf of the committee, we thank you very much.

Mr. Jeneroux, the floor is now yours. You have five minutes.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Shoot—all my questions were for Mr. Kingston. I guess I'll change it on the fly here.

Mr. Paterson, you talked a little bit about what I was going to ask Mr. Kingston. He spoke a bit about a federal lead on what the supply chain would look like. I'm curious to know if you perhaps have any insight on that, being one of his members.

You also made some comments about impacts at the border. I'm hoping you can share what you know or what those real stories are, and not necessarily from the shipping perspective. He was looking for increased border staff. What's the situation now?

Mr. Adams can probably chime in on some of that too.

[David Paterson]

Very quickly, I think Brian is correct that we need to anticipate and that we need to have clear leadership in different areas. These issues are complex. It comes down to issues of drivers maxing out their time when they do get into a holdup situation. We need infrastructure like the Gordie Howe bridge.

We need to make sure that we support our amazing border crossing people. I'll tell you, when it comes to the solutions they helped us put together to get vehicles across the border when it was blocked, they're my heroes. They're incredible. They just need our support. We need to really make sure that we continue to align some of the world's best customs planning processes for high-volume industries like the automotive sector.

We have the tool kit. We have very smart people. I think we just need to keep aligned between jurisdictions and make sure, as the junior partner in the auto sector, as one-tenth of it, that we take the initiative to be on the front foot in ensuring that we don't have holdups.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Mr. Adams, maybe I'll throw it over to you for comment as well. What does that look like, then? Is that just more CBSA officers at the border? Is it a better streamlining of what's happening now? Some examples would be helpful for the committee.

[David Adams]

I think part of it is that pre-clearance activities are always good. Ensuring that we know what is coming to the border before it actually gets there helps it move through the border more quickly. That's one activity that deserves maybe more focus than it has had to date. As well, you're right that increased personnel at the border is essential.

You were talking about the supply chain generally as well, Mr. Jeneroux. I think part of that does come down to a freight transportation effort. It comes down to, as David suggested, the shortage of drivers right now. Everybody is struggling to find drivers to move product, whatever that product might be. We're in a constant battle to ensure that we have the drivers to move the goods across from the ports into the interior of the country.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Thank you.

Mr. Chair, I'm good. I'll cede the rest of my time.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you very much, Mr. Jeneroux.

On behalf of the entire committee, I would like to thank our witnesses for their testimony today.

With that, this meeting is adjourned.