Check It Out: The realists are speaking up

By Joan Janzen

What's the difference between a pessimist, an optimist and a realist? A pessimist sees a dark tunnel. An optimist sees light at the end of the tunnel. A realist sees a freight train. And the train's conductor sees three people standing on the tracks.

After looking at a few issues, I've noticed there's a dire need for realists to speak up. Not too long ago, I was talking to a community-minded individual who said, "You need to be a forward thinker and ask, what am I going to do in the short term that will be really good in the long term?" He said although the short-term goal may be difficult, it will reap enormous benefits for the long term." Those words were spoken by a knowledgeable realist whose significant efforts were motivated by realistic optimism for the future.

Toronto Sun columnist Brian Lilley recently interviewed Kris Sims, Alberta Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF). "It's frustrating. The government seems to think they can declare something to be so and then not have any idea of how to actually make it work," she observed.

Brian Lilley agreed, saying he's seen so many instances where "they just make announcements and don't worry how things would actually happen."

Not only do they not know "how it will happen," but realistically, they ignore the future consequences if it does happen. This is definitely the case when it comes to the EV mandate, which they're calling the ban of normal cars and trucks.

A poll conducted by CTF revealed that 59 percent of Canadians oppose the federal government's ban on new gas and diesel vehicles. A realist might say the remaining 41 percent consists of Canadians who have never lived on the prairies during winter, which usually lasts 6 months of the year.

"Starting next year, there has to be a certain number of EVs sold, and if not, there's penalties for the companies," Brian explained. "This is an issue that most people don't know about."

In just ten years' time, all sales of new gas and diesel-powered vehicles will be illegal. Kris said many Canadians think, "Oh, ten years from now, I don't have to think about it." However, restrictions start in 2026 when twenty percent of car dealership sales must be EV sales.

"We're talking zero-emission vehicles," Brian pointed out. "They combine both battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles when talking about EV vehicles."

Kris said auto dealers will be financially punished if they don't meet their EV mandates, which is why CTF is raising alarm bells. "It starts at 20 percent and then kicks in harder and faster year after year until 2035," she added.

Meanwhile, the government is handing out huge subsidies to EV companies, as well as handing out rebates for purchases of electric vehicles. Brian noted that half of the electric vehicles in the country are owned by people in Quebec; however when the government put a pause on rebates, EV sales plummeted. This could be because an EV sedan costs between $15,000 - $20,000 more than its gasoline counterpart.

"There are people who own EVs and love them, but it doesn't work for everyone. If you're in Lethbridge, Moose Jaw or Flin Flon this is not going to work," Brian said.

Kris agreed that forcing people to buy battery powered vehicles is not a good idea. She gave the example of the city of Edmonton spending millions of dollars on electric buses that didn't work out during winter. "They spent $30,000 on blankets to swaddle the bus batteries and try to keep them warm, but it still didn't work," she added.

Kris had done her homework and estimated what type of power grid would be needed if all vehicles magically turned into EVs.

"We would need 14 new nuclear reactors immediately. These things cost about $13 billion each, and it takes about 10 years to build each one," she explained.

The raw power would cost about $180 billion but wouldn't include transmission lines, fuelling stations or manpower. Natural Resources Canada commissioned a report saying the cost to switch to EVs would be close to $300 billion.

To help get an idea of how much $300 billion actually is, she reported that it would cover the annual grocery bill for 1.7 million families for 10 years. "That's how much money that is," she added. It's also more than half of the current annual federal budget.

The realists are speaking out. The auto industry has been telling the government this will not work and engineers and tradesmen are saying they don't have the manpower to do this, the engineers for building, let alone know where the money is coming from. Kris stated an obvious consequence: this is going to affect the market, price and availability of gas and diesel-powered vehicles.

"If people want to buy an EV, that's totally up to them," she said. "But it's super important that the federal government scrap their program to force people to buy battery powered vehicles."

Those are the words of a knowledgeable realist who realizes the light at the end of the tunnel cannot be coming solely from EV headlights.