Thank you, Madam Chair and committee members, for the invitation to take part in your study. I do appreciate the opportunity to be here and to provide the auto manufacturers' perspective on this important issue.

The Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association represents Canada's leading manufacturers of light and heavy-duty motor vehicles. Our membership includes Ford Motor Company of Canada, General Motors of Canada Company, and Stellantis, also known as FCA Canada.

We strongly support the government's recent decision to implement tariffs on Chinese EVs and to limit purchase incentives to products made in free trade agreement partner countries.

These measures are critically important for two key reasons.

The first is alignment. Since the Auto Pact of 1965, Canada has reaped enormous economic and social benefits by being part of the integrated North American automotive sector. Through common regulations and competitive supports, we manufacture in this country into a market that accounts for annual sales of nearly 20 million vehicles. It is this very integration that has enabled Ford, General Motors and Stellantis to make historic, job-creating investments into this country to produce EVs and batteries. These investments total nearly $15 billion. They'll create 6,000 new jobs and tens of thousands throughout the automotive supply chain. However, we cannot take this success for granted. Measures have to be taken to protect Canada's automotive industry and the hundreds of thousands of well-paying jobs it supports.

Alignment with the United States in the automotive industry is the foundation of our manufacturing base. With an upcoming review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, CUSMA, in 2026, there is simply too much at stake for the industry and the broader Canadian economy if we are out of step and misaligned with the United States on the approach to China.

The second is time. The creation of a North American EV supply chain from mining to final vehicle assembly is still very much under development. Time is required to allow for critical minerals production and processing to ramp up, for the construction of new battery plants and for the retooling of existing manufacturing facilities. If we were to allow subsidized Chinese EVs to flood the Canadian market in pursuit of misguided EV sales targets, we would threaten Canada's role in the automotive supply chain. Implementing tariffs will give Canada a foothold in the emerging EV supply chain during this once-in-a-century transformation to electric.

Now, before I conclude, I would like to table a recommendation for the committee's consideration as part of this study. The federal government's recently implemented regulated EV sales mandate is a significant departure from the long-standing Canadian approach of alignment with the United States. This is a direct challenge to the very integration that is the foundation of this industry. It's a challenge to our integration with CUSMA and the competitiveness of Canada as a manufacturing jurisdiction.

Our seat at the automotive table in North America and the hundreds of thousands of jobs this industry provides depend on regulatory alignment for everything from vehicle safety to emissions standards. Given the transformation under way and the threats posed by countries like China, the consistency of our regulations across the larger North American market has never been more important than today.

By prioritizing EV sales over the development of a North American supply chain, the federal EV mandate opens Canada to subsidized or dumped EVs from China and other non-market economies. We recommend that the misguided EV sales mandate be scrapped in advance of the 2026 CUSMA review. The time and resources of the government would be much better spent ensuring that the supports are in place to help Canadians switch to electric, rather than mandating what vehicles they can and cannot buy.

Thank you for the opportunity.