More than half of Canadians say freedom of speech is under threat, new poll suggests
A new poll suggests a majority of Canadians feel their right to freedom of speech is in danger.
The Canadian government on Friday warned that U.S. proposals to create new electric vehicle tax credits for American-built vehicles could harm the North American auto industry and fall foul of trade agreements, according to a letter seen by Reuters.
In the letter dated Oct. 22, Canadian trade minister Mary Ng told U.S. lawmakers and the Biden adminisration that the credits, if approved, "would have a major adverse impact on the future of EV and automotive production in Canada."
She said this would raise the risk of severe economic harm and tens of thousands of job losses in one of Canada’s largest manufacturing sectors, adding that U.S. companies and workers would not be immune from the fallout.
The letter also said that the "proposals are inconsistent with U.S. obligations under the United States Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the World Trade Organization."
A U.S. House panel in September approved legislation to boost EV credits to up to US$12,500 per vehicle, including US$4,500 for union-made vehicles produced in the United States and US$500 for batteries made in the United States. Starting in 2027, vehicles would need to be assembled in the United States to qualify for all of the US$12,500 in tax credits.
The credits would cost US$15.6 billion over 10 years and disproportionately benefit Detroit's Big Three automakers -- General Motors, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler parent Stellantis -- because they all assemble their American-made vehicles in union-represented plants.
The U.S. Trade Representative's Office did not immediately comment, but the Biden administration has praised the proposals.
The U.S. arms of foreign automakers have criticized the union tax incentive. Tesla has also been critical, though it is strongly supported by the United Auto Workers union.
Ng said that Canada is deeply concerned about the "protectionist elements" of the proposed tax credits, saying they discriminate against EVs and parts produced in Canada.
"Canada is also necessary for the United States to achieve its electric vehicle objectives in the future," she wrote, adding that Canada is the only country in the Western Hemisphere that has all the critical minerals required to manufacture EV batteries.
Ng warned that the credits could "undermine the integrated nature of the North American automotive industry."
She said the U.S. and Canadian automotive industries rely on each other for both finished vehicles and components, with total automotive trade averaging more than US$100 billion a year.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; editing by Chris Reese and David Goodman)
A new poll suggests a majority of Canadians feel their right to freedom of speech is in danger.
Here are the latest recalls Canadians should watch out for, according to Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
William Nylander scored twice and Joseph Woll made 22 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Thursday to force Game 7 in their first-round series.
With the sheer number of passwords needed today, it may come as no surprise that over 60 per cent of Canadians feel overwhelmed, and over a third reportedly forget their passwords monthly.
Britney Spears and Sam Asghari are officially divorced and single.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
Jurors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump heard a recording Thursday of him discussing with his then-lawyer and personal fixer a plan to purchase the silence of a Playboy model who has said she had an affair with the former president.
A spike in impaired driving-related collisions has caused Ontario’s provincial police to begin enforcing mandatory alcohol screening (MAS) at all traffic stops in the Greater Toronto Area -- a move one civil rights group says is ‘not acceptable.’
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.