Mr. Speaker, once again, our Conservative colleagues' attitude is not at all constructive, particularly when it comes to the fight against climate change. What people need to understand is that behind their motion lies a desire to do away with almost all of Canada's climate change policies, and they have been somewhat successful in accomplishing that so far.
Their motion covers up the fact that they are simply opposed to the electrification of transportation and electric vehicles. I think they would be better off having the courage to say it outright. For several months, even years, we have been seeing policy proposals that are essentially those of the oil and gas companies. People need to understand that oil and gas companies are strongly opposed to the electrification of transportation because, obviously, it will lead to a reduction in oil consumption in the country.
When it comes to the electrification of transportation in Canada, Quebec is ahead of all the other provinces. More electric vehicles have been sold in Quebec and more charging stations have been installed in Quebec, and there is a reason for that. It is because there is a significant financial advantage to transitioning to the electrification of transportation in Quebec.
From an economic standpoint, Quebeckers are still paying more than $10 billion a year for oil. That is $10 billion that is leaving the province and is therefore no longer in Quebeckers' pockets.
That is in addition to the impact that burning oil and gas has on air quality. When we talk about air quality and the economic impact, obviously, we are talking about billions of dollars in health care costs, but we also need to talk about deaths, premature deaths, that are directly linked to poor air quality. We also need to talk about health conditions, hospitalizations and cardiovascular disease, especially among seniors and people who are at risk. We can solve some of these issues by electrifying transportation, but if we delay electrification, as the Conservatives want to do, we will lose out from an economic standpoint, from an environmental standpoint because of the fight against climate change, from a public health standpoint and from a consumer standpoint.
Consumers' pocketbooks are now captive to the oil and gas companies, the majority of which happen to be owned by U.S. investors. People are talking about Canadian nationalism and Canadian sovereignty, but it is important to keep in mind that over 50% of Canadian oil companies' shareholders are in the U.S. Nearly half of the gas imported to Quebec also comes from the U.S. We all stand to benefit if we take our money and invest it in the electrification of transportation. We also stand to benefit in terms of economic development and job retention.
Every litre of gas Quebeckers replace with electrons means money for Hydro-Québec. That money stays in Quebec to be reinvested in our services, including health services, social services, schools, roads, infrastructure and public transit. This is a win-win situation.
Unfortunately, what we are seeing now is that continued pressure from the oil and gas companies, backed up by our Conservative colleagues, has forced the government into submission since it came to power. Ever since this new government took office, we have seen more backtracking on the fight against climate change than ever before. It got so bad that the former environment minister stepped down from his position as Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture because he disagreed with all the federal government's backtracking, including the increased funding for oil and gas companies in the latest budget, Bill C-5 allowing the suspension of certain laws, including some environmental laws, and the regulations to accelerate the construction of fossil fuel and pipeline infrastructure, including liquefied natural gas facilities.
Unfortunately, when we look at what is going on with the electrification of transportation, we realize that a whole year has gone to waste. Last year, the government suspended the EV purchase incentives, causing EV sales in Canada to drop by nearly 50% in one year. While the whole world is ramping up EV sales, Canada is going backwards. The United States is about the only country that has stagnated. Canada is about the only country that has gone backwards. That is shameful, and the government is directly responsible.
Now, the Liberals are coming back to us with some incentives, and the Conservatives are getting all fired up. They have never said a word about the roughly $10 billion a year in subsidies granted to oil and gas companies. The Conservatives have never moved a motion to take that away. As they see it, giving money to oil and gas companies is fine, but helping people buy electric vehicles is not.
One of our major concerns is, of course, the affordability of vehicles. They are extremely expensive right now, especially electric vehicles. That is in part because there are currently barriers to entry and to competition from electric vehicles manufactured overseas in places like Europe that could come to Canada. There are plenty of models that would be much more affordable and much more economical for people, but the government is not allowing these vehicles into Canada, even though they are allowed into Mexico. The excuse is that European vehicles are not safe and do not meet Canadian standards. We do not have those vehicles here. What we need is access to affordable vehicles.
Yes, we need incentives in the short term, and we think they should be geared to household income. What I mean is that rich people are obviously not the ones who need financial help to buy electric vehicles. We should also limit the number of subsidies because it makes no sense to give away that much money.
That said, manufacturers should be forced to ramp up production of affordable EVs. Currently, the biggest lobby hindering electrification in Canada is made up of certain automakers that have fallen so far behind in Canada that they are struggling to compete with other vehicle manufacturers around the world, which is why these vehicles face barriers to entry to Canada. Opening the borders to allow vehicles in is a major issue, but we should not open them while burying our heads in the sand and acting as if there are no problems related to vehicle manufacturing in China, for example, where there have been documented reports of blatant forced child labour and human rights violations. We introduced a bill aimed at reversing the burden of proof so it is up to exporters to demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt that their products, including those from China, are not violating human rights and contributing to forced labour.
There are solutions. We need to implement them. The Bloc Québécois has proposed several. Obviously, we are concerned to see the government constantly backpedalling. Not only did the Liberals suspend the incentives for a year, but what they have announced now is that the mandate that would have forced manufacturers to produce and sell more EVs has been set aside, much to the satisfaction of Ontario and the automotive manufacturers. What people need to understand is that manufacturers will not do it unless they are forced.
The government is proposing an alternative: Instead of requiring 100% of all vehicles sold to be electric by 2035, Canada will only require 75%. It is backtracking again. This will delay electrification, at a time when states like California are staying the course. Europe is also being more ambitious. In China, 60% of new vehicles sold are electric. Today, as we speak, Canada is at 9%. These policies need to be strengthened, fast, rather than diminished and weakened as the government is doing.
Obviously, we will oppose the Conservatives' motion. We clearly see their intentions: They are carrying out the oil and gas companies' agenda under the pretext of wanting to defend ordinary folks.