{"id":431222,"date":"2021-12-13T18:26:19","date_gmt":"2021-12-13T18:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/environmentaldefence.ca\/?p=31989"},"modified":"2021-12-13T18:26:19","modified_gmt":"2021-12-13T18:26:19","slug":"fact-checking-ontarios-environment-minister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/12\/13\/fact-checking-ontarios-environment-minister\/","title":{"rendered":"Fact checking Ontario\u2019s Environment Minister"},"content":{"rendered":"
The fall sitting of the Ontario Legislature has wrapped. Looking back, we noticed that MPP David Piccini, Ontario’s Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks, made some less than accurate claims about Ontario’s environmental record.<\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s take a look<\/strong><\/p>\n On November 24, Queen\u2019s Park Today reported that in response to the Ontario Liberal Party\u2019s campaign proposal to offer electric vehicle incentives, Minister Piccini claimed the Progressive Conservative government policies have already led to \u201ca 210 per cent increase in EV (electric vehicle) sales year over year from Q2 2020 to Q2 2021.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The statistic is correct, but is it due to the Ontario government\u2019s policies? Not by a long shot.<\/strong> Here\u2019s why.<\/span><\/p>\n The federal government offers a $5,000 incentive towards electric vehicle purchases (both battery electric and plug-in hybrid). The Ontario government does not offer any additional incentives, but other provinces do: British Columbia and Quebec are two provinces that have long-standing incentives. Comparing EV sales in those provinces show that the rise in sales in Ontario is not due to the province\u2019s policies<\/span><\/p>\n Add to this that P.E.I. and New Brunswick rolled out EV incentives in the past year. The result? Sales Q2 2020 to Q2 2021 went up more than in Ontario –\u00a0 in New Brunswick it went up 277 per cent and in P.E.I. it went up 320 per cent.<\/span><\/p>\n So, it would be the federal government’s incentives that are driving EV sales in Ontario, not the provincial government\u2019s policies.<\/span><\/p>\n One other important statistic: Ontario used to have incentives for electric vehicles at a time when there were no federal incentives. But when the PC government was elected in June 2018, it cancelled those incentives. What happened? Electric vehicle sales in Ontario dropped dramatically<\/strong>. In Q2 of 2018, the last quarter with incentives, 3 per cent of vehicle sales were EVs. In Q4 of 2018, the first quarter with no Ontario incentives, EV sales dropped to just 1 per cent of vehicles sold<\/strong>. That\u2019s the result of the Ontario government\u2019s policies.<\/span><\/p>\n Did EV sales rise in Ontario due to the provincial government\u2019s policies, as Minister Piccini claimed? <\/span>Absolutely not<\/b><\/p>\nElectric Vehicles<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Climate Change and Emissions Reductions<\/span><\/h3>\n