The committee studied Canada's electric vehicle (EV) strategy and related supply chain, national security, and intellectual property issues. Witnesses included Ilana Weitzman (Electric Autonomy Canada), Moe Kabbara (The Transition Accelerator), Neil Bisson (Global Intelligence Knowledge Network), Andrew McKinnon (Accelerate: Canada's ZEV Supply Chain Alliance), James Hinton (intellectual property lawyer), and Sebastian Fischmeister (University of Waterloo professor).
Ilana Weitzman emphasized that EVs save drivers significant fuel and maintenance costs, citing a fleet operator saving $15,000 on nine electric cars. She recommended allowing clean technology investment tax credits for on-road fleet charging, creating lower taxable benefit rates for electric company cars to boost the used EV market, and supporting charging infrastructure in condos and rental apartments. She noted that the U.S. rollback of emission standards leaves Canada without a unified market, urging Canada to diversify and leverage its natural assets.
Moe Kabbara argued that the global EV trend is driven by superior cost and performance, not just climate goals, citing Ethiopia's adoption to save on fuel imports. He advised calibrating GHG standards to signal investment certainty for charging and grid upgrades without harming affordability, and recommended that the remissions framework in the auto strategy include investments across the full supply chain, including battery and material processing. He disagreed with a purely security-focused approach to Chinese EVs, suggesting joint ventures as a pragmatic option.
Neil Bisson warned that Chinese EVs pose national security risks due to the PRC's demonstrated motivation and capability for cyber-espionage and foreign interference. He highlighted that China's National Intelligence Law requires company co-operation with state intelligence, and that connected EVs could provide access to sensitive data and critical infrastructure like the electrical grid. He recommended caution and risk assessment, but did not offer specific mitigation measures, deferring to technical experts.
Andrew McKinnon stressed the need for a holistic EV supply chain approach, from mining to manufacturing, to create jobs and support defence industries. He recommended a national IP strategy for critical materials, fast-track patent processing, and provisions in foreign investment deals requiring Canadian material content and IP safeguards. He noted that Canadians support EV supply chain development, and that more EVs on roads increase public backing for critical mineral mining.
James Hinton argued that Canada's EV strategy has failed because it subsidizes foreign firms without retaining intellectual property or data value, with Canada owning only 1% of global EV patents. He recommended stopping subsidies for foreign manufacturing and adoption, imposing upstream research constraints to keep IP in Canada, creating a patent fund for Canadian firms, and establishing a sovereign cloud for EV data. He disagreed with McKinnon's more optimistic view, asserting that branch plants do not generate economic spillovers.
Sebastian Fischmeister raised the risk of systematic supply chain attacks, where malicious components can be inserted into vehicles or charging infrastructure before deployment, enabling large-scale exploitation. He advocated for a zero-trust supply chain model, where no component is implicitly trusted and all parts are verified, noting that Canada lags in adopting such techniques used in aerospace and defence. He warned that AI will soon enable rapid generation of counterfeit or malicious components.
The committee then debated and adopted a motion to study the economic and supply chain impacts of recent U.S. tariff changes under section 232 on Canada's mould-making and broader manufacturing sectors. The motion, as amended, schedules three meetings starting April 20, 2026, superseding other business, and invites relevant ministers and stakeholders. A subamendment to request a government response instead of a House report was withdrawn, and the motion passed with all-party support.
AI-generated summary — may contain errors; verify against the official evidence.