If the Motor Dealers Association of Alberta doesn’t send Premier Danielle Smith a Christmas card, we have reached a new low in ingratitude.Commenting on federal electric vehicle regulations (announced yesterday by Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault) during a yearend interview with the Western Standard, Smith more or less ordered Albertans to get up out of their armchairs and go buy a car, if it’s a gas-powered one they want. That, or risk going on a waiting list.. That’s because — as she explained — the Trudeau-Liberal plan for transitioning Canada’s auto fleet out of gasoline power by 2035 does not start in 2035. By as soon as 2026, zero-emission vehicles are required to be 20% of new automotive purchases.“All I can tell people is that they if they want to buy a car, they better buy it now, because I think that by 2026, we'll see rationing. The car makers have told me the only way they can meet these (federal) targets is that they have to reduce the amount of gas-powered vehicles they make available for sale, so that it matches what they're allowed to produce under electric vehicles. So you think about that… In Alberta, we normally purchase 200,000 cars a year. But we're purchasing less than 2,000 electric vehicles. So, if we only purchase 2,000 electric vehicles, and that has to be 20% of the market, it means we're only going to be allowed to buy 8,000 gas-powered vehicles. So, I suppose by sometime in January, everybody who walks into the dealership is going to be told ‘sorry, sign up for next year, because we don't have any more cars to sell you.’ “Sure enough, the regulations do state that by 2026, “zero-emission vehicles” should be 20% of all new car sales, escalating to 60% by 2030 and reaching 100% by 2035.“We're going to have to become expert at repairing vehicles.”Albertans then, have two years to think about it. That, and the prospect of becoming Cuba North, as we all drive around in what by 2035 standards will be vintage cars.The merciful and most likely outcome would be a change of government of course, although if there’s nothing else to buy, the demand for EVs could grow. The fortunate result in 2026 would be that for every one EV sold, four gas cars could be available for sale.But here's the thing. The bigger problem is that what we drive, is not the only problem. Not even close, in fact. We are governed by outlaws.Or in the premier's more temperate language, we are dealing with a federal government that:Doesn’t respect the law, Doesn’t accept judicial verdicts, Doesn’t see the need for cooperation and Does not behave as a partner in Confederation.And that affects much more than cars and the electrical grid.Smith: “I have to tell you, Environment Minister Stephen Guilbeault is 99% ideologue. There is no pragmatism at all in him. I'd hoped when I got elected, that I'd be able to work collaboratively with the federal government. And we have on a number of things. But I can tell you that my experience with him is the same as what my counterparts have had in other provinces, same as industry associations, it is that he comes in knowing what he wants to do, takes no input or advice, and then unilaterally issues pronouncements.”Can it last?No. “I don't know how we're going to be able to continue working with this environment minister. He's not just coming for the oil and gas industry. And I think that this credit system he's putting together, for belching, and farting cattle is probably one foray into starting to regulate seriously our food production. But now he's going after the auto manufacturers in Ontario.”“Every single industry is going to be at risk as long as he's Environment Minister.”True enough. The question is why the Liberal cabinet allows him to do the damage Smith describes.The simplest answer — mine, not Smith's — is that the Trudeau Liberals are perfectly content to see the ideologue Guilbeault take the heat. They like what he’d doing, but don’t have to be personally identified with it.Once he becomes a political liability — poll results suggest that that time is now — they will simply drop him. He will be the scapegoat for everything you didn’t like, and you will the be invited to meet and vote for a refreshed Liberal Party the party bosses hope you can love. Of course, Guilbeault won’t be the only Liberal who has to go, for that to happen. Poll results show the Liberals sinking like a stone. “And,” says Smith, “almost all of that hinges on the terrible policies that they're allowing their environment minister to announce.”Also true, and tragic for those who must bear the consequences of the EV regulations personally and who find themselves priced off the road. But all Canadians are victims in this. It used to be said that Canada doesn't work in theory, only in practice. It is that practice, that collegial give and take that the Liberals are now destroying with Guilbeault's tactics and with the permission of his enablers.Smith faces a bigger task than anybody realised when they voted her in as premier. Fortunately she appears to have the resolve and the understanding to handle it. But there's a lot more at stake than what's under the hood.
If the Motor Dealers Association of Alberta doesn’t send Premier Danielle Smith a Christmas card, we have reached a new low in ingratitude.Commenting on federal electric vehicle regulations (announced yesterday by Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault) during a yearend interview with the Western Standard, Smith more or less ordered Albertans to get up out of their armchairs and go buy a car, if it’s a gas-powered one they want. That, or risk going on a waiting list.. That’s because — as she explained — the Trudeau-Liberal plan for transitioning Canada’s auto fleet out of gasoline power by 2035 does not start in 2035. By as soon as 2026, zero-emission vehicles are required to be 20% of new automotive purchases.“All I can tell people is that they if they want to buy a car, they better buy it now, because I think that by 2026, we'll see rationing. The car makers have told me the only way they can meet these (federal) targets is that they have to reduce the amount of gas-powered vehicles they make available for sale, so that it matches what they're allowed to produce under electric vehicles. So you think about that… In Alberta, we normally purchase 200,000 cars a year. But we're purchasing less than 2,000 electric vehicles. So, if we only purchase 2,000 electric vehicles, and that has to be 20% of the market, it means we're only going to be allowed to buy 8,000 gas-powered vehicles. So, I suppose by sometime in January, everybody who walks into the dealership is going to be told ‘sorry, sign up for next year, because we don't have any more cars to sell you.’ “Sure enough, the regulations do state that by 2026, “zero-emission vehicles” should be 20% of all new car sales, escalating to 60% by 2030 and reaching 100% by 2035.“We're going to have to become expert at repairing vehicles.”Albertans then, have two years to think about it. That, and the prospect of becoming Cuba North, as we all drive around in what by 2035 standards will be vintage cars.The merciful and most likely outcome would be a change of government of course, although if there’s nothing else to buy, the demand for EVs could grow. The fortunate result in 2026 would be that for every one EV sold, four gas cars could be available for sale.But here's the thing. The bigger problem is that what we drive, is not the only problem. Not even close, in fact. We are governed by outlaws.Or in the premier's more temperate language, we are dealing with a federal government that:Doesn’t respect the law, Doesn’t accept judicial verdicts, Doesn’t see the need for cooperation and Does not behave as a partner in Confederation.And that affects much more than cars and the electrical grid.Smith: “I have to tell you, Environment Minister Stephen Guilbeault is 99% ideologue. There is no pragmatism at all in him. I'd hoped when I got elected, that I'd be able to work collaboratively with the federal government. And we have on a number of things. But I can tell you that my experience with him is the same as what my counterparts have had in other provinces, same as industry associations, it is that he comes in knowing what he wants to do, takes no input or advice, and then unilaterally issues pronouncements.”Can it last?No. “I don't know how we're going to be able to continue working with this environment minister. He's not just coming for the oil and gas industry. And I think that this credit system he's putting together, for belching, and farting cattle is probably one foray into starting to regulate seriously our food production. But now he's going after the auto manufacturers in Ontario.”“Every single industry is going to be at risk as long as he's Environment Minister.”True enough. The question is why the Liberal cabinet allows him to do the damage Smith describes.The simplest answer — mine, not Smith's — is that the Trudeau Liberals are perfectly content to see the ideologue Guilbeault take the heat. They like what he’d doing, but don’t have to be personally identified with it.Once he becomes a political liability — poll results suggest that that time is now — they will simply drop him. He will be the scapegoat for everything you didn’t like, and you will the be invited to meet and vote for a refreshed Liberal Party the party bosses hope you can love. Of course, Guilbeault won’t be the only Liberal who has to go, for that to happen. Poll results show the Liberals sinking like a stone. “And,” says Smith, “almost all of that hinges on the terrible policies that they're allowing their environment minister to announce.”Also true, and tragic for those who must bear the consequences of the EV regulations personally and who find themselves priced off the road. But all Canadians are victims in this. It used to be said that Canada doesn't work in theory, only in practice. It is that practice, that collegial give and take that the Liberals are now destroying with Guilbeault's tactics and with the permission of his enablers.Smith faces a bigger task than anybody realised when they voted her in as premier. Fortunately she appears to have the resolve and the understanding to handle it. But there's a lot more at stake than what's under the hood.
