Canada to match California, Quebec on tailpipe emissions

OTTAWA — Environment Canada is drafting vehicle tailpipe regulations to match the climate change goals of Quebec and California, according to a recently released federal document.

Although Environment Minister Jim Prentice ridiculed Quebec's introduction of its own standards this week, describing it as a "folly" that could result in a $5,000 price increase for car buyers, his department is preparing to publish regulations by this summer to harmonize with both California and federal U.S. standards.

"It is expected that the final regulations will be in place in the summer of 2010," said the background document published by Environment Canada at the end of 2009. "The proposed standards would require substantial environmental improvements from new vehicles and would put Canadian GHG emission standards at par with U.S. national standards and, by 2016 with the California standards."

Bob Oliver, executive director of Pollution Probe, an environmental research group, said the numbers demonstrate that provinces such as Quebec don't necessarily need to introduce their own regulations once the federal proposal is adopted.

"The federal standard will likely do the heavy lifting for Quebec," said Oliver. "Quebec already has a very fuel-efficient fleet and under the standard that Canada is going to implement they're going to become an even more fuel-efficient fleet."

Oliver said an agreement between California and the U.S. federal government to harmonize their own regulations and strengthen the national targets is responsible for strengthening the American standards beyond what was previously proposed by the Bush administration.

The Harper government, in turn, would be required to harmonize with the new U.S. standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 to 30 per cent, depending on the base year.

Oliver added that while he agrees with Prentice for urging Quebec to adopt the national standards instead of having separate regulations, he said the rest of the criticism and infighting has more to do with politics.

"I don't agree with (Prentice's) assessment about what it means to consumers," said Oliver. "I think that's a bit of politicking. But I think based on what Canada has announced it's going to do in its draft consultation paper with respect to GHG emission rules, I don't see why any province would be compelled to follow California — unless it's part of a broader political strategy."

An industry association representing automobile dealers has suggested that the Quebec regulations are already taking its toll, by forcing some companies to stop selling vehicles in Quebec that don't meet the new standards.

But Hugo Seguin, a spokesman from Equiterre, a Quebec-based environmental group, said the industry is trying to distort the reality.

"It's intimidation," he said. "Auto manufacturers are pulling out models in Quebec that aren't selling, the big gas guzzlers."

Environment Canada is in the process of analyzing the impact of the new standards on emissions and could release the findings prior to publishing its regulations.