Last week, we learned that the Quebec Ministry of Transport (MTQ) is studying future ways to fund mobility.
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
Let’s face it, it’s high time.
On the one hand, the Quebec government wants to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 37.5% in 2030 compared to 1990 and its consumption of petroleum products by 40% in 2030 compared to 2013. Without important turn, we will completely miss these two objectives.
On the other hand, fuel taxes fund road maintenance… and public transit. Thus, the more people switch to public transit, electric vehicles and active transportation, the less revenue the government receives from gas taxes, which reduces funding for roads and public transit by the same amount. It’s the dog biting its own tail.
It is therefore obvious that all this cannot last much longer.
In 2022, it is no longer viable not to penalize the purchase of large energy-intensive vehicles. It’s the simple polluter pays principle. And a simple increase in fuel taxes doesn’t work because wealthier people don’t care while less well-off people suffer disproportionately. As for the current malus on the registration of vehicles with a cylinder capacity of 4 liters and more, the penalty is so modest that it has no deterrent effect.
Light trucks: popular… and problematic
In Quebec, between 1990 and 2020:
- Their sales increased by 228%;
- Their sales percentage increased from 24% to 71%;
- Their energy consumption has increased by 197%;
- Their sales expenses have increased by 596%!
Between 1990 and 2019, GHG emissions from light trucks increased by 157.6%. They now emit more GHGs than cars with 32.3% of total emissions from the road transport sector.
In 2021, Health Canada estimated the cost of polluting emissions at 120 billion and 15,300 deaths, including 4,000 in Quebec. However, more than 60% of polluting emissions in Quebec come from transportation.
The bonus-malus: iunavoidable
An effective bonus-malus system that will tax the purchase of the most polluting vehicles will help accelerate the transition to electric vehicles. That said, in Norway, the aggressive tax system for polluting vehicles hasn’t brought in a fortune for the government. Instead, it discouraged the purchase of polluting vehicles and accelerated sales of electric vehicles. For example, sales of electric vehicles in Quebec were 10.5% in the second quarter of 2022, while they reached 89% in Norway in September 2022.
I also agree with the principle that large families and workers in need of a bigger vehicle can be exempt from this tax until electric versions are available for them… which is coming rapidly. That said, we must also deploy measures that will discourage solo driving (even electric) and encourage electric public transit, electric car sharing, electric carpooling and active transportation.
As for the Zero Emissions standard, I am in favor of tightening it so that Quebecers no longer have to wait six months to two years for the majority of electric vehicle models on the market, because people who need electric vehicles electricity are currently trapped.
Ultimately, the time has come for the Ministers of Transport and the Environment to stop ducking when it comes to tackling climate change, air pollution, reducing our dependence on oil…everything. by rethinking the financing of roads and public transit. The era of thinking in silos is well and truly over.
This is why I salute the initiative of the MTQ and hope that this reflection will quickly lead to concrete and effective actions.