Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Vaughan—Woodbridge.
The Prime Minister may be new, but his government's radical environmental agenda is not. The Liberals are banning the sale of gas-powered vehicles. In under 10 years, it will be illegal for companies to sell gas-powered vehicles in Canada. By 2035, the government will require that all new light-duty car and passenger truck sales be zero-emission.
The Liberals like to frame this as a target, but they conveniently forget to mention that the target is mandatory. The mandate is clear. If we want to buy a new vehicle, it must be zero-emission. By doing this, the Liberals are effectively banning the sale of gas-powered vehicles. There are few policies that will devastate Canadians more than this one.
When we take away someone's vehicle, we take away their freedom. For millions of Canadians, having a gas-powered vehicle is not a choice but a lifeline. When we take away a worker's freedom to drive to their job, we take away their livelihood. When we take away a parent's freedom to drive their kids to hockey practice, we impact their family. When we take away a senior's freedom to drive to a doctor, we put their health at risk. By banning the sale of gas-powered vehicles, the Liberals are taking away the freedom of millions of Canadians.
The Prime Minister and his Liberal government believe in a utopian fantasy in which all Canadians can take the subway or their bike to work, and if they cannot do that, then surely they can take a costly, unreliable electric car in the depths of winter without a charging station in sight.
This is absolute nonsense. The Liberals' plan to ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles is an attack on our freedoms. It is an attack on the freedom to choose where to go and when to go. The Liberals are banning the sale of gas-powered vehicles in Canada. By doing so, they are signing a death sentence for the future of rural Canada. I represent a rural region in western Manitoba, where life revolves around the ability to travel. If we took away the cars or the trucks from Canadians living in a rural region, the vast majority could not get to work. They could not get to the grocery store. They could not get to the doctor's office. When we take away a rural Canadian's vehicle, we make it nearly impossible to live.
That is exactly what the Liberals are doing by banning the sale of gas-powered vehicles. They are making it impossible for rural Canada to function. A vehicle is needed to pursue the rural way of life. In fact, many rural Canadians rely on a truck to live the rural way of life.
There is a reason folks in rural Canada buy trucks that cost far more than an average car. It is because they have no choice. If we take away the pickup truck, we take away the countless jobs, such as the jobs of farmers, construction workers, natural resource workers and the list goes on.
They suggest that rural Canadians can simply replace their current vehicles with an electric car and life will go on. They call this a transition, a forced transition by government, I should add. What they will not mention is that there are very few places to charge an EV and that they are not equipped to drive long distances. Let us not forget that much of the electricity in Canada's north is generated from diesel; yes, electric vehicles would be charged by electricity generated from diesel. That is the Liberals' environmental policy in action.
In under 10 years, the Liberals will ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles in Canada. They will force Canadians into buying costly and unreliable electric vehicles. Think about that. This is happening at a time when the industry itself is failing. Just read the news.
“Honda delays $15-billion EV project citing demand,” reports CTV News.
“GM to halt EV van production in Ontario to adjust for market demand”, says Reuters.
“Ford delays new EV plant, cancels electric three-row SUV”, reports CNBC.
Why should Canadians be forced to buy an EV when the companies making them are backing out?
The most damning criticism of the Liberal government's gas-powered vehicle ban does not come from industry or the media, and it may not even come from Conservatives; in fact, one of the most vocal opponents of the Liberals' gas-powered vehicle ban is the environment minister's very own department. Conservatives have uncovered damning evidence that revealed the environment minister was advised on the damage that banning gas-powered vehicle sales would do to Canadians but plowed ahead with the plan anyway.
When the government creates a new regulation, the department conducts something called a regulatory impact analysis. The purpose of the analysis is to advise the government on the impacts of the regulation, hence the term “regulatory impact analysis”. Conservatives obtained these documents, and what we discovered was very damning. According to the environment minister's very own department, the regulation to ban gas-powered vehicle sales will have a devastating impact on Canadians. The government's own regulatory impact analysis states that this policy will “lead to a loss of consumer choice for consumers”. In other words, Canadians will have fewer options when choosing a vehicle.
The government's internal analysis further reveals that zero-emission vehicles are expected to “cost more than non-ZEVs”. The analysis points out that the price increase could “lead to a reduction in the quantity of vehicles purchased”. This means that fewer Canadians will be able to afford these new, more expensive vehicles.
It gets worse. According to the government's internal report, “Mechanics will likely incur costs to retrofit their shops and invest in training to service ZEVs. These costs would likely be shared with consumers by passing much of the costs onto consumers through higher service costs.” Therefore, not only will Canadians be paying more up front for their vehicles, but they will also face higher repair costs down the road.
The government's internal analysis even highlights the increased wear and tear the Liberals' electric vehicle mandate will have on our highways and roads. It states, “ZEVs are generally heavier than non-ZEVs due to the size of the batteries used to power them.” The document goes on to say that this added weight could “lead to increased wear and tear on roads.”
It even gets worse than that. The analysis reveals that the EV mandate will “increase the demand on the electricity grid.” It goes on to state, “A significant increase in demand for electricity, particularly at peak time, could lead to an increase in electricity prices.”
On top of that, the regulatory impact analysis states that the costs of manufacturing will “tend to be higher than those for non-ZEVs”. It goes on to say that those costs “are expected to be passed directly to consumers”. In fact, the department states that the environment minister's regulations will cost Canadian consumers over $54 billion. Can members imagine that? These are not my words, but the words of the government's analysis conducted by its very own department.
The Liberals were advised that their gas-powered vehicle ban would increase vehicle costs, increase maintenance costs, increase electricity costs, decrease vehicle choice and damage our roads, but guess what. They plowed ahead with their gas-powered vehicle ban anyway. The environment minister's own department was sounding the alarm over the Liberals' vehicle mandate, but the minister ignored its advice. Now Canadians are paying the price.
When Henry Ford first introduced the automobile, he envisioned a future in which everyone could own a car. He famously said, “I will build a motor car…so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one—and enjoy with his family the blessings of hours of pleasure in God’s great open spaces.” That vision was not just about cars; it was about freedom and mobility. Whether it is for work, family or simply to explore the open road, we should be embracing Henry Ford's belief in affordability and freedom. Instead, the Liberals are mandating Canadians into expensive, unreliable electric cars. It is for these reasons that I join my Conservative colleagues in calling on the Liberals to immediately end the ban on gas-powered vehicles.