The Commons Industry committee requested Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne provide information regarding new federal subsidies for Volkswagen, which are believed to be worth up to $15 billion.. Francois-Philippe Champagne .Champagne did not provide any details about the contract. The committee has given Champagne an additional week to disclose the Volkswagen contract..“Two things: number of jobs, amount of money,” said Conservative MP Brad Vis (Mission-Matsqui, BC). .“I am not asking for anything inappropriate. If the government stands by their investment, they’ll give us the numbers. I don’t need obfuscation. We need to have transparency.”.The committee on March 30 approved a motion sponsored by Vis that the cabinet surrender terms of the contract to build a subsidized battery plant in St. Thomas, ON. by 2027..“The number of $15 billion was being thrown around,” Vis said at the time..READ MORE Billions in secret subsidies for Volkswagen.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Champagne was to disclose the terms on Monday. He did not..“The parliamentary secretary promised me he would have it here today,” said Vis..“He didn’t follow up with an email or anything or say, ‘Hey, we need a little bit more time. We’re redacting certain information.’ Not a peep. It’s like you guys didn’t even expect this would come today. This is a straightforward, good-faith motion.”.“This government came forward with great fanfare to announce this seminal investment, yet this government is afraid to give Canadians the number,” said Vis..“Why can’t we just get the number? What’s the big deal?”.Liberal MP Iqwinder Gaheer (Mississauga-Malton, ON) said he suspected the Volkswagen subsidy was complicated..“I haven’t seen this contract, but I don’t imagine it’s just a one-pager that’s been signed by Volkswagen,” said Gaheer..“I am sure it’s 100 pages, 200 pages, who knows? I am sure it has to be translated into both languages and verified.”.The Industry committee voted unanimously that Champagne surrender the contract to MPs and taxpayers by April 24..“The fact of the matter is there are some big numbers floating around about the amount of money the government has given to Volkswagen to create a new battery plant,” said Vis..“This is the only car company that has been charged under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (EPA).”.In 2020, Volkswagen settled 60 counts of breaching the EPA by equipping diesel cars with software misrepresenting nitrogen oxide emissions nine times the legal limit. The scheme was uncovered in 2014 road tests by researchers at West Virginia University..Volkswagen paid $196.5 million in fines plus $17.5 million for misleading advertising in breach of the Competition Act and agreed to offer $2.39 billion in compensation to Canadians who bought Volkswagen diesel vehicles. Total payments in Canada were $2.6 billion..Yesterday, one MP said he had few expectations cabinet would comply with the latest committee order..“The government’s going to redact them anyway,” said Conservative MP Rick Perkins (South Shore-St. Margarets, NS).
