It's simply to come up with a clear definition of what an off-road vehicle is, which should have been done in accordance with what was initially said in the 2022 fall economic statement, and in the 2023 update, with respect to clean technology and the zero-emission off-road vehicles described in class 56.

As I was saying, businesses, and even the government, need to be able to purchase these vehicles. The federal government should be setting an example. In a country like ours, we expect the government to purchase zero-emission snowmobiles, personal watercraft and boats for the various departments to use. It's all part of what is called the greening of the government's vehicle fleet. It's perfectly logical.

I would nevertheless like to make a point, after hearing someone talk about a free market as opposed to what we call a corporatist economy. Electric Mobility Canada is in favour of measures that would promote the purchase of electric vehicles, and funding for electric vehicle projects. Some people are saying that we should allow the free market to run its course, but that's nonsense. You're an economist, so you know it as well as I do.

According to figures released by the White House, the United States has been subsidizing oil companies for 111 years. According to the International Monetary Fund, in 2022, implicit and explicit subsidies, direct subsidies and tax credits for fossil fuels totalled $7,000 billion. So when I hear people talking about a free market, I find it amusing. Ours is not a free market. Some people say they want to support the free market, but that's just a fantasy. People who study these things are really studying something that doesn't really exist. In real life, there are all kinds of subsidies for companies, and the fossil fuel sector has been benefiting from it for 100 years. An industry like ours therefore has 100 years of catching up to do.

We're not asking for the equivalent of 100 years of subsidies to close the gap; far from it. It won't take anything like that long to catch up, because we are becoming increasingly competitive. Nevertheless, we need some startup assistance for Quebec and Canadian companies like Taiga, Theron and Voltari. There is also the Lion company, which has 300 suppliers across Canada. These companies need a hand to make up for lost time, in view of the subsidies given to oil companies for the past 100 years.

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