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OPINION: Investing in gas, electric vehicles at same time counterproductive

The whole point of backing EVs is to relegate internal combustion engines that rely on gas to the pages of history, writes reporter
2019-02-11 Tesla charging station RB 2
File photo/Village Media

It just doesn’t add up.

The provincial Progressive Conservatives want to lower gas prices by 10 cents  that involves reducing the provincial gas tax by 5.7 cents per litre and the fuel tax by 5.3 cents per litre on July 1 for six months.

The cost is estimated to result in a $645-million revenue loss for government.

At the same time, the PC government is part of the wave to try to reduce the reliance upon fossil fuel consumption by investing in electrical vehicles (EVs). 

Just last month, Ontario Premier Doug Ford dropped by Honda Canada’s manufacturing plants in Alliston where he and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other dignitaries hailed the company’s movement toward electrification.

They announced their respective governments would each drop $131.6 million to help Honda reach its goal of zero emissions. Alliston has been designated by the Japanese automaker as its North America’s lead plant for the new 2023 CR-V hybrid crossover as it embarks on an electrification strategy on this continent.

Honda will spend the next six years and $1.38 billion upgrading and retooling the facility for the creation of electric vehicles.

Honda Canada’s assembly plants in Alliston, the thousands who work there and, by extension, the surrounding communities including Barrie, will benefit from that. 

But the motivating factor is to cut back on emissions contributing to greenhouse gas by moving away from internal combustion engines that rely on gas for power.

Federal security minister Marco Mendicino has said the Canadian government’s goal is to get to 40 per cent below 2005 emissions levels by 2030 and reach a net-zero environment by 2050.

A big part of that includes a mandatory target for EV sales in Canada. The feds have said at least 20 per cent of all new passenger vehicles sold in Canada will be EVs by 2026, and at least 60 per cent by 2030, on the road to 100 per cent by 2035.

And so the feds, along with the provincial government, pushed money into Honda’s efforts to build hybrid cars. 

And then there’s the $5-billion EV battery plant planned for Windsor, to which the provincial and federal governments are contributing, although how much they won’t say. Ford said divulging the amount “would compromise some negotiations moving forward with other companies as well,” but described it as massive.

Investing in the electrification of vehicles while at the same time lowering gas prices to make it easier to drive gas-powered vehicles seems like supporting competing objectives. The whole point of backing EVs is to relegate internal combustion engines that rely upon gas to the pages of history. 

Maybe it’s just an election promise that may not come to fruition. 

The Progressive Conservatives’ history suggests that other concerns can sometimes trump original plans, particularly when it comes to reducing the price of gas.

In the 2018 election campaign, they promised to reduce gas prices. The idea was that by reducing the gas tax and getting rid of the provincial cap-and-trade system, a savings of 10 cents per litre could be achieved.

Cap-and-trade was scrapped, but then the federal carbon tax came in, eliminating the opportunity to reduce gas prices.

It’s a promise that Ford made again last fall, but that fell by the wayside.

If the Progressive Conservatives form government again and do successfully lower the price of gas at the pumps, it would be the first time Ontario has reduced the gas tax in more than 30 years, albeit just for six months.