Trudeau Liberals set to join Wynne Liberals in helping rich people buy electric cars

What is it with our governments and public subsidies for electric vehicles?

Federal Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna told The Canadian Press this month the Trudeau government is working on "creating incentives" for Canadians to buy electric vehicles.

This as part of its overall climate change strategy, in addition to imposing a national carbon price on the provinces.

In other words, the Justin Trudeau Liberals in Ottawa will follow the Kathleen Wynne Liberals in Ontario in throwing more public money at one of the most expensive and least efficient ways of reducing industrial greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change.

In Ontario, the Wynne government is giving public subsidies of up to $14,000 for electric vehicles, plus $1,000 for installing a home charging station.

Plus four years of free electricity for overnight charging.

It's also promised to work with Ottawa to eliminate the 13% HST on electric vehicles by 2018, spend $80 million on workplace and apartment charging stations and $20 million for 250 charging stations across Ontario.

All in, these subsidies mean, according to an analysis by the Fraser Institute, that the public will pay about $250 million to lower emissions by 0.03% in 2020 compared to 2014.

The emission cuts are so low because few people buy electric cars, with good reason.

Last year 6,933 electric vehicles were sold in Canada compared to 1.9 million in total sales. It's not hard to see why.

Electric vehicles are more expensive than conventional ones and have limited range, which decreases in cold weather.

Who buys them? Rich people.

As reported by CBC News, Ontario taxpayers recently paid five millionaires an average of $5,538 each towards their purchase of the Porsche 918 Spyder, which retails for about $1.1 million and is one of the most expensive cars ever made.

They also paid $362,032 to 64 Ontarians to buy the BMW i8, retailing at about $150,000; $212,500 to 25 drivers to buy the Fisker Karma, selling for about $130,000; and $170,000 to 20 buyers of the Tesla Roadster Convertible, selling for about $138,000.

(The government has now limited subsidies to electric cars costing up to $150,000. An upper limit of $50,000 would at least be more reasonable.)

Originally Wynne said her government would pay for electric vehicle subsidies and other climate programs out of the $1.9 billion annually it expects to make starting next year by joining the California and Quebec cap-and-trade market.

First, that $1.9 billion, if it comes, will come from Ontario consumers having to pay more for almost all goods and services under cap-and-trade.

Second, the California/Quebec carbon market crashed in its last two auctions of carbon allowances, bringing those governments only a fraction of the money they anticipated to fund green energy programs.

If that happens to Ontario, Wynne will have to raise taxes or go deeper into debt to subsidize electric vehicles sales.

And now the federal government, according to McKenna, plans to buy into this madness. 

Source: Trudeau Liberals set to join Wynne Liberals in helping rich people buy electric cars