Yesterday, WaterPower Canada’s Interim President Patrick Bateman appeared as a witness before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development for the Study on Zero Emission Vehicles. The study is being undertaken by the Committee “in connection with the desire, expressed in the Speech from the Throne, to put in place a plan that will make it possible to surpass Canada’s climate objectives and that to do so, the Committee examine additional measures that could be taken to encourage the production and the purchase of zero-emissions vehicles, including a zero emissions vehicle law.”
Canada is one of the few countries in the world uniquely positioned to move toward and beyond a 90% non-emitting electricity supply. Leveraging this clean electricity advantage to power Zero Emissions Vehicles will bring significant environmental, economic, public health, and consumer benefits. The Federal Government has an integral role to play in supporting the development of the national ZEV market, and supply chain, including with a suite of available policy options that will provide the best outcomes when introduced in complementarity. And we are already building momentum. The electricity sector is making investments in anticipation of demand due to electrification. Auto-makers are building ZEVs and components in Canada. The opportunities go far beyond cars and chargers to metals and minerals. And charging technology companies are growing, creating Intellectual Property, and building a new industry in Canada.
“Demand growth from the electrification of transportation, combined with stringent and stable long-term climate policy, is critical for our sector to maximize our investments in the coming years. These potential investments represent tens of billions of dollars, tens of thousands of new jobs, and the avoidance of hundreds of millions of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually,” said Patrick Bateman, Interim President, WaterPower Canada. “GHG emissions need to decline rapidly in order for us to exceed our 2030 Paris Agreement goals, and achieve net-zero by 2050. Building on our strengths, leveraging existing competitive advantages, and creating the right conditions for investment will support these objectives.”