Auto dealerships in Gatineau, Que.Sean Kilpatrick
New environmental regulations in Quebec that commence next week could raise the prices of 80 per cent of the vehicles sold in the province, causing consumers to halt purchases of new vehicles that emit fewer greenhouse gases than those already on the road, auto industry members say.
The industry is fuming about new rules under the Quebec Environmental Quality Act, which were announced during the year-end holiday period and take effect Thursday.
The new measures cover large auto manufacturers - those selling more than 12,000 vehicles annually in Quebec - which, as of 2016, will face a fine of $5,000 for every vehicle they sell that doesn't meet new emissions standards, beginning with 2010 model-year vehicles.
Although the fines do not take effect for more than five years, the government will begin collecting data as of Jan. 14. Vehicle manufacturers have been selling 2010 models for months, however, so it's impossible to change quickly to meet the new standards.
"The province of Quebec is completely out of step with the rest of North America," said Rick Gauthier, president of the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association. "There's been no consultation, no discussion, no forewarning to vehicle manufacturers or the industry that this is going to happen," he said.
"We are now in the process of evaluating the impact on Quebec consumers and dealers," said David Mondragon, president of Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ltd.
Industry critics said the rules will be self-defeating and have little or no impact on the environment because the $5,000 penalty, or part of it, will likely be factored into the prices of new vehicles. Consumers will likely hang on to older, more highly polluting vehicles longer, buy used vehicles, or purchase new vehicles in provinces that border on Quebec, they said.
Jacques Béchard, head of the Quebec dealers' association, said the main manufacturers will meet with the government next week.
"We are astonished by this regulation," he added, saying many of the rules are unclear.
Mr. Béchard said the industry had talks with the government in 2008 about potential regulations, but thought the province had backed off after U.S. President Barack Obama said he wanted a national standard and Prime Minister Stephen Harper pledged to go along.
Quebec Environment Minister Line Beauchamp unveiled the regulations on Dec. 29, just weeks after Premier Jean Charest returned from the Copenhagen climate conference determined to plow ahead with a made-in-Quebec plan, first promised during the Bali climate change talks two years earlier.
In announcing the regulations, Ms. Beauchamp said they will apply to the collective fleet of individual manufacturers. "The goal is to get them to improve technology in bigger vehicles and to get them to refine their sales strategies to emphasize lighter vehicles," she said.
"Manufacturers will have five years to show they are respecting the ceiling imposed by Quebec, by adapting their products and altering their sales strategies. And if they fail, they will pay."
Ms. Beauchamp said Quebec's standards would echo those taking effect in California and 14 other states. But Mr. Gauthier and others noted that there are no California standards because California has agreed to work with the U.S. government to develop a national standard for emissions.
"The government told us nothing concrete would be introduced until the automobile industry was consulted," said Renée Cardinal, a spokeswoman for the Montreal auto dealers' association. "We were taken aback, like most of the auto industry."
Ms. Cardinal said Quebec dealers have always maintained the province should not go it alone. "We're less than 3 per cent of the North American market. The automobile industry is not going to adapt just for Quebec standards. Ideally Quebec would follow the rest of North America instead of heading out on its own."
Industry analyst Dennis DesRosiers estimated that about one-third to one-half the vehicles sold in Quebec would have to be taken off dealers' lots. "The time frame is ridiculous," he added. "By next Thursday?"
He noted that Quebec drivers are already serious about helping the environment, with 65 per cent of them driving small vehicles.
Ms. Beauchamp, who is on vacation, was not available Friday.
Les Perreaux