2023-08-16 14:33:41
Environmentalists are delighted with the remarks of the Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, who affirmed that the automobile fleet in Quebec should be halved. For their part, car dealers are worried.
The director of the Vivre en ville organization said he was pleasantly surprised by the declaration of Pierre Fitzgibbon, who indicated on Monday that the number of cars on the roads should be halved.
According to Christian Savard, this proposal has been circulating for a long time among environmentalists.
“We need to switch to electric, but we also need to take the turn of demotorization, and the figure he put forward is relatively well known if we are interested in the simulation models that will allow the energy transition”, indicated the director of Vivre en ville.
Christian Savard added that it is “particularly interesting that a minister like him dares to say these things because unfortunately, reducing the number of vehicles has long been a taboo”.
Has Pierre Fitzgibbon become the unexpected ally of environmentalists like Christian Savard in the fight once morest climate change?
To this question, the director of Vivre en ville replies that “reality is catching up with everyone at the moment” and “that the government realizes what needs to be done and deliver this message with such transparency, that means that there are taboos that fall”.
During a press briefing on Monday, the Minister mentioned that three elements were necessary for the success of the energy transition.
He cited the increase in the supply of renewable energy, carbon capture and he mentioned that Quebecers must review “the way they consume” energy, especially when they travel.
The Minister of the Economy specified that it would be necessary “to have half as many cars”, and that these should be electric.
A counselor adds nuance to the remarks
On Tuesday, a political adviser to Pierre Fitzgibbon added a few nuances to the minister’s remarks during an email exchange with The Canadian Press.
“The transport sector is one of the highest emitters of GHGs, we have always said that the electrification of vehicles was essential to achieve our targets” and “we also want to offer Quebecers other transport options which are all as effective, if not more so, than the automobile,” wrote Rosalie Tremblay-Cloutier.
She also mentioned that “the government has no direction on reducing the number of vehicles on our roads”.
Nevertheless, the Minister still declared on Monday, twice rather than once, that it would be necessary “to have half as many cars”. The first time at the microphone of host Paul Arcand, and the second time during a press scrum.
The war on the car, according to Éric Duhaime
According to the leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec, the minister’s remarks mean that “the CAQ officially declares war on the car”.
In a long review on social networks, Éric Duhaime pointed out that “public transit is not present everywhere, in our regions, and never will be” and that for many families, abandoning the automobile is unrealistic.
“Will the CAQ eliminate half of the limousines provided to its ministers? Of course not. Which ministry is going to eliminate its car fleet? None. He’s more like the guy who works at the shopat $20 an hour, who pays $300 a month for his Sentra, which the CAQ will attack,” wrote Éric Duhaime.
He explained that low-income motorists will find it difficult to buy an electric vehicle and “that the three other even more left-wing parties in the National Assembly will applaud wildly and will no doubt find that we are not eliminating cars quickly enough of the poorest on the roads”.
But the CEO of Vélo-Québec emphasizes that Minister Fitzgibbon “never spoke of taking cars away from people” and that reducing car use, according to him, requires the development of alternatives to car-only infrastructure.
“People use their car because there is no other option,” said Jean-François Rheault, adding that “36% of Quebecers live less than five kilometers from their job, so walking, cycling and efficient public transport are options that can be developed”.
However, for the Équiterre organization, improving the offer of alternatives to solo driving will not be enough to change the travel habits of Quebecers.
“We must discourage the use and ownership of vehicles” and introduce eco-taxation measures where more polluting vehicles cost more to register than less energy-consuming ones, mentioned Anne-Catherine Pilon, sustainable mobility analyst for Équiterre.
Dealers express their concerns
For its part, the Corporation of Quebec Automobile Dealers (CCAQ) expressed its concern following the speech by the Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy.
“Such comments require clarification from the Minister, given that the territorial reality of Quebec and the public transit offer necessarily require access to an individual vehicle for a majority of Quebecers,” said the CCAQ in a press release.
“The fact that these are expressed in a public manner can also only be a source of agitation and apprehension for the future of our environment, while we are fully involved in the energy and ecological transition strategy launched by the government,” the car dealership corporation also said.
In 2021, there were 6,995,085 vehicles in circulation in Quebec, out of an estimated population of 8,602,335, which corresponds to 2,616,872 more vehicles than 10 years earlier.
In Quebec, road transportation is the largest source of GHGs, accounting for 34% of total emissions.
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