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Canadian Government Proclaims Into Law the Fuel Consumption Standards Act; Standards to Be Established and Implemented for Model Year 2011
7 November 2007
The Canadian government has proclaimed into law the Motor Vehicle Fuel Consumption Standards Act (MVFCSA).
Under the MVFCSA, fuel consumption standards will be established for light-duty road motor vehicles. These standards will come into force following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the auto industry and the Government of Canada in 2010 and will be implemented for model year 2011.
The government will develop the new MVFCSA standards with input from stakeholders. The standards will be designed for Canada to maximize its environmental and economic benefits, will be achievable within the integrated North American market and will be benchmarked against a stringent, dominant North American standard, according to the government. The new standards will be published by the end of 2008.
The proclamation of this act is good news for Canada. Setting mandatory fuel consumption standards will lead to sustained improvements in fuel efficiency and help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles purchased in Canada.
—Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources Canada
The Motor Vehicle Fuel Consumption Standards Act provides that:
All motor vehicle fuel consumption values must be registered with Transport Canada;
Each motor vehicle must bear a fuel consumption label and a national fuel consumption mark;
Company Average Fuel Consumption (CAFC) standards will be set for specific classes of motor vehicles;
Each vehicle maker or importer must submit the data required to calculate their CAFC values for comparison against the standards;
Fines will be set for each vehicle maker or importer whose CAFC value for a particular class of motor vehicle is higher than the standard for that class; and
CAFC credits will be recorded for each vehicle maker or importer whose CAFC value for a particular class of motor vehicle is lower than the standard. If a penalty year occurs, credits may be taken from any or all of the three years before or from the year following the penalty year, to reduce the fine.
Background. The Canadian and the US motor vehicle manufacturing industries have grown increasingly integrated since the 1965 Auto Pact, which reduced barriers to the flow of automotive trade and investment between the two countries. In 1976, the Government of Canada established voluntary Company Average Fuel Consumption (CAFC) targets. These targets, by agreement with the motor vehicle industry, were set to represent an equivalent level of vehicle fuel-efficiency as provided by the then recently-enacted CAFE standards in the US
In 1982, Parliament passed the Motor Vehicle Fuel Consumption Standards Act (MVFCSA), providing for mandatory fuel consumption standards. The Act establishes the legal authority to regulate fuel consumption for prescribed classes of motor vehicles. However, the government did not proclaim the act due to the voluntary commitment by manufacturers to continue to provide vehicles that meet US standards. The voluntary commitment was broadly consistent with the framework and authorities established by the Act.
In 2005, the Government of Canada and the Canadian automotive industry signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) stipulating that the Canadian automotive industry would take actions to voluntarily reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of new vehicles in Canada. The agreement called on the automobile industry to cut GHG emissions from light-duty vehicles (cars, minivans, sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks) so that by 2010, annual emissions reductions will reach 5.3 megatonnes (Mt).
In October 2006, the Government of Canada announced, under a Notice of Intent to Regulate, that it intends to regulate the fuel consumption of road motor vehicles under the Motor Vehicle Fuel Consumption Standards Act after the expiration of the MOU between the auto industry and the Government of Canada. This was confirmed in April 2007, under the Regulatory Framework for Air Emissions. (Earlier post.)
November 7, 2007 in Canada, Fuel Efficiency, Policy | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)
Comments
Posted by: oorgo | November 07, 2007 at 02:57 PM
hey, thats more than the United States is doing, i don't see them changing CAFE anytime soon...
Posted by: apawlowski | November 07, 2007 at 05:18 PM
Hey it's a minority conservative government in Canada. They have to look like they're doing something. I shudder what to think these guys (most of whom are elected from the oil rich alberta) would do if they were to get a majority and could do whatever they wanted. When Ambrose was environment minister it was nothing but lipservice. Hope they get their butts handed to them but right now they are kissing too many behinds and slapping themselves on the backs.
Posted by: aym | November 07, 2007 at 10:01 PM
well our only other option right now is if the conservitives get voted out, and the liberals back in we'll have a bunch of spinless liberals back on our hands who won't do anything but can this plan because it's a non-liberal plan and that's what polititians do.
Posted by: Brad | November 08, 2007 at 10:39 AM
If the Liberals or NDP get into power, they will shut down all wind and independent hydro generation in order to save a few birds, fishes, and visual scapes.
For the oh so "sensitive" leftists, one bird or one salmon has a lot more "value" (code word for cheap irrational cultish idealism) than the mass of Canadians receiving clean and cheap power.
Posted by: JD | November 08, 2007 at 11:34 PM
I'm a tool.
Posted by: JD | November 09, 2007 at 12:49 AM
Leftist? There many of the 'left' that are broadly and wrongly coloured by JD's comments (Which I'm guessing are ironically motivated, as Green Car Congress isn't a really Conservative hotbed of ideas, green anything for that matter).
It is the 'left' leaning that has brought any change worth mentioning. The lame proclamation from the Conservative government of Canada only exists due to pressure from the 'left'. Impending Canadian vote, or not, the Conservative government's poor history regarding the environment is public record.
The proclamation is a very weak, very stale step. One that should have happened when Canada signed Kyoto. (Yes, Canada signed under a Liberal government, but the Liberals in Canada are nothing but centrist Conservatives.)
At this point nothing less than mandatory legislation and a commission to enforce milage increases, severely cut and incent momentum for technologies that eliminate emissions is required for anything in the sphere of the Automotive industry. This step would only make Canada more competitive in the international market. After all, Money and upholding the interests of Business, isn't that what a Conservative government is about?
Posted by: Edcom | November 09, 2007 at 03:00 AM
In 2005, taxes in Canada represented on average 35% of the pump price versus 20% in the U.S. In some provinces it's even higher than that. Many Canadians cross over into the US to buy their gas.
Alberta just raised taxes on oil sands production...
CAFE/CAFC standards are irrelevant-- at least the Canadians are not afraid to tax both the production and consumption of motor fuels...
Posted by: Vin Diesel | November 09, 2007 at 08:26 AM
What is the most effective measure?
CAFE style consumption regulation that all manufacturers will fight or find a way to postpone or get around it.
Much higher but progressive fossil fuel (and grain ethanol) taxes + higher sale taxes + much higher registration fees for gas guzzlers.
Use all or most extra revenues to actively support the purchase of HEVs, PHEVs and BEVs with lower (or negative) sale taxes + progressive subsidies (up to $10K) based on reduced fuel comsuption and % of purchase price.
Example: A 1 % negative sale tax (up to $10k and a cap of xx% of the vehicle cost) for every mpg above 50 or 60 mpg (average) could help the sale of smaller more efficient HEVs and PHEVs.
Progressive positive and negative taxes may be more effective and easier to apply than more CAFE.
Consideration may also be given to GHG in the taxing formula.
Posted by: Harvey D | November 10, 2007 at 09:43 AM
Canada could cease to exist and stop emitting Carbon tomorrow, and it would be almost undetectable on a global scale.
Canadian environmentalists can make themselves feel good by forcing their citizens to live at a lower standard of living and fold themselves into little cars. Unfortunately, all the coal fired power plants and new cars and trucks in China and India make Canada’s whopping 30 million citizen’s carbon footprint irrelevant. Even the US, with over 300 million people will emit less Carbon than China in just a few years, Canada won’t even be measurable soon, even if everyone in the county drives a full size SUV.
Posted by: Yukaburbahoe | November 15, 2007 at 06:37 PM
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Wow... well that's fine and all but it doesn't come into effect until 2011? 4 years is a long time in the current climate crunch and the CDN gov't is still dragging it's heals and pussyfooting around the big oil and industry.