Mr. Speaker, maybe there are some K-car drivers still here.
The kind of strategy the opposition is talking about is one that frankly needs the heritage licence plate on it, because that is kind of the strategy being proposed here.
This focus on emissions reduction in a smart way, working with partners, that makes vehicles better is a key part of our plan and a key part of our progress. In every era of automotive production around the world, governments are working with business and working with the technologies that are available, or that could be available, to make cars cleaner, safer, more reliable and cheaper. This is what this strategy will do.
Speaking of making vehicles more available, it is a key part of our strategy that we have reintroduced electric vehicle rebates, something that was advocated strongly by this caucus, especially by the member for Guelph, who is the chair of our auto caucus, as well as members of our climate caucus and indeed all members on this side of the House, who made a very strong advocacy to bring these rebates back.
I am very pleased to report, and people can go to the Transport Canada website now, that the program for electric vehicle rebates will be launching on March 31 for eligible vehicles that are bought or leased on any date after February 16. This is an exciting time for Canadians to access the vehicles they want to buy, where they just need a bit of a bridge in financing to make them more available. These vehicles have not just long-term benefits to Canadians, but short-term benefits to Canadians.
I gassed up this weekend, and we know that because of the war in the Middle East, there has been a spike in gas prices. My RAV4 used to cost me about $47 to fill up. Over the weekend, it was over $60. I know from my constituents and from the constituents of members on both sides of the House that they are feeling anxiety around this moment in the war. They are feeling anxieties in lots of ways, including for the people who are suffering in that war, but here at home, it has a real effect on gas prices. A smart electric vehicle rebate policy, one that highlights and elevates the rebate this year so that it is available when people are thinking about these issues, is an especially important part of our policy.
The policy and our new strategy also celebrate workers. We are working hard with workers and with union leaders, as I have mentioned before, to make sure that where there is a threat that investments are being pulled out by some North American automakers, we are being very aggressive in making sure we are standing with workers to say that those investments we are committed to must return. We are also creating a new work-sharing grant, creating a new workforce alliance and providing employment assistance and re-skilling supports for up to 66,000 workers with a $570-million investment.
Finally, our strategy, and some of my colleagues have already referred to this, is about defending our trade interests. Canadians chose, in April, this party and people on this side of the House to defend Canada's trade interests in Washington, D.C. Yes, there are elements in this motion that we applaud. In fact, we are working daily with the administration and on this side of the House to make sure that we get the very best deal for Canada.
The Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, obviously the Prime Minister, the Minister of Industry, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and others are engaged regularly on the set of questions around this. It is a testament to the engagement we are doing that we have been able to get to this point where the tariffs have not unduly hurt us. In fact, Canada, overall, has the best tariff arrangement of any country in the wold, and we are going to continue to defend that. We are going to continue to defend those CUSMA exemptions. We are also going to push back, so if a company is not building enough here, we will make sure it is not able to sell as much here. That is a key part of our strategy through our remission framework.
It would be helpful, of course, if that perspective on getting the best deal for Canada was shared by every member of the caucus on the other side. If I understand the motion correctly, it calls for a trade deal to be done similar to the Canada-U.S. auto pact. I do not know if the member for Bowmanville—Oshawa North brought the auto pact with him when he went to Washington, D.C., but I think it is very unfortunate that the sole representative of the Conservative caucus who went to Washington, D.C., was talking down Canada after his engagements. I think that weakened our trade position rather than strengthened it. I look forward to hearing how the Conservative caucus is going to repair that damaging interaction.
There are a few parts of the motion about Chinese tariffs and access to the Chinese market. I have not heard the other side yet refer to the real, substantive gains that were made in that arrangement for canola farmers and producers in western Canada. I know that when I went to Saskatchewan and Alberta in the past weeks, I heard with great acclaim how appreciative they were that we had some very focused arrangement with China that allowed the unleashing of the canola trade, which had been restricted. Let us just remember that this is a very focused reopening of access to the Canadian marketplace for Chinese EVs that harkens back to what we had a few years before the specific conflict we had with them. We are just reopening back to that era.
When we were in that era, I did not hear Conservatives being especially concerned that we were having a limited number of Chinese EVs in the country at that time. Any future Chinese EV enlargement will be subject to the kinds of investments that we are saying we need to look for. Again, we have a five-part strategy that focuses on investment, on workers, on sustainability, on consumer incentives like the EV rebate and on a strong trade arrangement.
Our auto strategy is coherent, and it is complete. It depends on Canadian workers, a history of investment and a need to adapt to the new era. An auto strategy that harkens back to an era that is 60 years gone, in which our main partner is not interested anymore, is not destined to succeed. For that reason, I will be opposing this motion.