Jan/February 2023

Happy New Year EV Society members and friends,

Thank you for reading, and if you appreciate the efforts of EV Society to act as a voice of influence across Canada for electric vehicle ownership, please share this newsletter and encourage your friends, family and colleagues to become full members. Signing up as a paid member provides funding to help us advocate on behalf of EV supporters like you. We could not operate without the support of our members, so thank you!

We want to hear from you. When you have an interesting story or related topic you’d like to share with the community here, please email us at Contact @EVSociety.ca.

EV Society Board of Directors

Feds Annouce Canada Wide ZEV Mandate

EV Society board members Stephen Bieda and Tim Burrows were privileged to attend a major Federal announcement at Plug 'n Drive's new Discovery Centre location in Vaughan, Ontario, last December.

The press conference was held at the new Plug’n Drive EV Discovery on Bradwick Drive in Concord, Ontario.

Julie Dabrusin, parliamentary secretary for Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault announced the new proposal that 20% of all passenger cars, SUVs and trucks sold in Canada in 2026 will need to run on electricity. By 2030, the mandate hits 60 per cent and then 100% by 2035. This Federal zero emissions mandate moves to ensure that a share of the limited electric vehicle inventory from manufacturers is made available to all Canadians, reducing wait times and easing the purchase process. BC and Quebec have had such mandates in place already and combined with provincial incentives, enjoy the highest EV adoption rates in Canada.

While the Federal Government’s ZEV mandate is based on a national scope, omitting requirements for regional allocations will leave many areas of the country lagging as EVs are mostly allocated to major centres. We encourage all EV Society members to submit feedback for this legislation to ensure everyone can have the opportunity to buy an EV, regardless of where they live:

View the proposed legislation here: Canada Gazette website.
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Regional allocation of EVs should be required as part of the sales mandate. Without this requirement, Canadians outside of the densely populated areas will be hurt and less likely to progress with the rest of the country.

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EV Drivers' Choice - GEVA Awards

The Global EV Drivers' Alliance invites electric car drivers to vote for the best EVs.

The EV Drivers’ Choice is an international award presented by a jury of more than 220,000 EV users worldwide! They represent 59 EV users associations from 34 countries which are affiliated to the Global EV Drivers' Alliance (GEVA).

This year's, and the first edition of the competition, brings together more than 120 electric car models, which can be voted for via the website: https://evdriverschoice.com/. Next year, the formula will be changed – you will be able to vote only for cars that premiere in a given year.

– The aim of the competition is to select the one, best electric car on the global market and to recognise the leaders in each country. Based on the voting, the winners of the ranking will be announced and a report will be produced presenting the most interesting user opinions on EVs – says Ellen Hiep, Chairperson of the GEVA Communications Committee and board member of the Dutch electric car drivers association (VER).

The voting process is simple and takes literally one minute. It requires each voter to go to https://evdriverschoice.com/, indicate the model of their choice, provide information about their country of origin and briefly justify their choice. Voting is open until the end of the first quarter of next year, i.e. 31 March 2023. The results of the competition will be announced in the second quarter of next year, during an online event.

– Following the voting, a ranking and report will be prepared, summarising the votes cast globally and the local rankings, presenting the results for individual countries. It will also feature in-depth user feedback. The winners with the highest number of votes will be awarded the 'EV Drivers' Choice GEVA Awards, says Joel Levin, Chairman of the GEVA and Executive Director at Plug In America.

The Global EV Drivers' Alliance (GEVA) represents the voice of EV drivers around the world and is active in advocating for zero emission transport. The association is a community based non-profit organisation that gathers best practices, inspiration and information from other associations and EV drivers. This information is then used to educate and inspire each other to accelerate electric mobility in regions where electromobility is not yet popular.

– More than fifty associations have joined forces to form GEVA and became a strong representative of EV users worldwide. This is because we have the knowledge and experience to influence the development of zero-emission transport market. We are now uniting our activities around the project of selecting the best EVs on the basis of real users feedback – says Łukasz Lewandowski, Chairperson of GEVA's European Committee and CEO of EV Klub Polska.

Find out more: https://evdriverschoice.com/

Howard Hutt Award

Electric Vehicle Society is now accepting nominations for the 4th Annual Presentation of the “Howard Hutt Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Electric Transportation” (or “The Howard Hutt Award” for short).

The Howard Hutt award is named after EV Society founder, Howard Hutt, who founded the “Electric Vehicle Society of Canada” back in 1991. Howard was an EV pioneer long before electric vehicles were considered feasible or generated much interest. It is in his name that we seek out any person, persons, or entity who have engaged in outstanding efforts towards the advancement of electric transportation in Canada.

Nominations for the Howard Hutt Award can be forwarded by any full member in good standing of Electric Vehicle Society. Nominees should have accomplished meritorious work towards the advancement of electric vehicle adoption and embrace EV Society’s Vision and Mission. While not restricted to, special consideration shall be given to members of Electric Vehicle Society.

Nominations may include:

Letters of support or testimonials;
Photos or videos;
Cover letter and/or CV;
Special certifications, diplomas, etc.;
Any other documents that prove expertise or worthiness.

Please click here to submit your nominations by the February 10, 2023 deadline.

For any questions regarding the Howard Hutt Award, please contact Chad Yee at Chad.Yee@EVSociety.ca

EV Society in the News

EV Radio Interview: The Drive with Karl Dockstader: Tim Burrows of The EV Society

Listen here

Power play: Ottawa to help add 13 local electric vehicle charging stations

Read here

Doug Beckett, Prince George's EV Pioneer

Doug’s early interest in Electric Vehicles was sparked by his partner at a time when EVs weren’t commercially available for the average consumer or were extremely limited and expensive. Many early EV enthusiasts at that time were building their own EVs from the ground up or converting gas models into EVs. Doug’s partner did a lot of research and ended up attending a Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association (VEVA) meeting in the early 2000s.

Having learned about EV conversions from VEVA members and early companies like Canadian Electric Vehicle Ltd (CanEV), Doug and his partner purchased a used 1991 GMC Sonoma pickup truck and an EV conversion kit in 2006. Over a three year period, the Prince George College Heights High School mechanics instructor and students, working on it as they could, completed the Sonoma conversion. By 2009, the truck finally hit the roads of Prince George. The electric Sonoma was originally powered by 24 Deep Cycle Lead Acid batteries, housed in the truck bed. The Lead Acid batteries were later replaced with 44 Lithium batteries that were not only dramatically smaller in size and weight, but also provided doubled the range (50km to 100km!), 3 to 10 times the life expectancy and greatly improved the cold weather performance. In eight years, Doug and his partner drove the truck over 57,000 km, used 17,042 kWh of electricity, and avoided burning over 5,300 litres in gasoline by driving electric.

In 2017, they sold their Sonoma EV and bought a used 2013 Nissan Leaf, which Doug enrolled to be 1 of 100 EVs involved with a research program administered by the BC Ministry of Transportation, BC Hydro, and Plug-in BC.

Today, Doug is the founder and facilitator of the Prince George Electric Vehicle Association (PG EVA). Having driven EVs in Prince George since 2009, Doug actively promotes EVs along with the PG EVA members from all across BC, northwestern Alberta, and the Yukon.

EV Society congratulates and celebrates Doug’s pioneering and ongoing efforts to promote EVs through the Prince George EV Association.

Know an EV Ambassador who we can feature in EV Society’s newsletter? Email us at Contact @EVSociety.ca

OUR CORPORATE MEMBERS

Thank you to our corporate members. Click the link below to see more.

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EPS: 33, The Future of Mobility... A Fireside Chat with Raed Kadri, VP Strategic Initiatives and Head of OVIN

On Canada Talks this month, we sit down for a casual talk with Raed Kadri, head of OVIN, the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network.

We will discuss how OVIN is working to ensure that Ontario (and Canada) has a significant place on the world stage for the automotive sector. Raed will discuss a range of EV related topics from critical minerals to our pool of local talent and much more. OVIN is an initiative by the Government of Ontario to ensure Ontario’s leadership in the future of the automotive and mobility sector.

Raed Kadri is the Vice-President, Strategic Initiatives for OCI and Head of the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN), an initiative by the Government of Ontario to ensure Ontario’s leadership in the future of the automotive and mobility sector.

At the helm of OVIN, Raed drives Ontario’s presence on the global stage, leading programming that supports research and development (R&D) funding, talent development, technology acceleration, business and technical supports through testing and demonstration sites.

In addition to that, Raed leads province-wide coordination of activities and resources, public education, research, analysis, and thought leadership. Bringing together stakeholder groups and raising awareness around the opportunities for Ontario and for its partners, Raed is cementing Ontario’s leadership in the future of the automotive and mobility sector globally.

Don’t miss out! Register to receive your personal link to the webinar below.

Plug'n Drive at the Auto Show

Plug’n Drive is looking for EV Ambassadors to staff Canadian International Auto Show’s indoor EV test track registration desk from Wednesday February 15th to Sunday February 26th at the Toronto Convention Centre. If you like talking to people about electric vehicles, own or drive an EV, are over 21 with a valid G drivers license and you want an opportunity to attend the Auto Show, we would like to talk to you. Training will be provided.

There are two shifts per day. Each shift requires 9 staff.
Training will be provided.
These are paid positions. Transportation to and from the venue and parking fees are your responsibility.

To apply, please contact Mary Mallin, Manager EVents and Logistics at Plug’n Drive at mary@plugndrive.ca

Get to Know Taiga Motors

There is no better time than now, deep into the call of the winter season, to introduce you to Taiga Motors Inc., a Canadian electric vehicle company. Born to electrify the off-road powersports segment, the company relentlessly pursues evolution in the snowmobile and personal watercraft space by merging the human desire to escape into nature with the responsibility to protect it.

At the core of Taiga’s Nomad™, Ekko™, and Atlas™ snowmobiles and the Orca™ personal watercraft platforms is a revolutionary 100% electric powertrain, offering up to 120kW* (160hp) in world-class torque, power, and speed.

For more information on Taiga, visit taigamotors.com.

We also encourage you to sign up to test drive Taiga’s vehicles here as Taiga’s snowmobile demo tour begins early 2023. You will be one of the first notified.

* Specifications given for informational purpose based on Taiga's testing.

Taiga™, Nomad™, Atlas™, Ekko™, Orca™ and related trademarks, names and logos are the property of Taiga Motors Inc. and are registered and/or used in Canada, the U.S. and countries around the world. Use of the trademarks, names and logos is not permitted without the prior written consent of Taiga Motors Inc.

Interesting Article: Critical minerals: Global and Canadian portraits

With the accession of electric vehicles, much controversy and incomplete information (half-truths) on critical minerals are wide-spread. Rarely is complete global portrait assembled. This report attempts to rectify the quandary.

Little known is that critical minerals requirements for the world-wide migration electric vehicles can be accommodated from sources in democratic countries through to the end of the century.

Australia currently supplies half of the global lithium supplies and has abundant deposits of nickel, copper and cobalt.

While China dominates the planet’s supply of batteries to the tune of 80% of the world’s battery production capacity, the country relies heavily on imported critical minerals. China importing 80% of its cobalt from the Congo is a problem.

The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) will close the gap with China on electric vehicle (EV) battery production and favour North American critical minerals content.

Canada is blessed with large reserves of lithium, graphite, cobalt and other critical minerals. This document dedicates attention to many of these Canadian projects.

South American mining of lithium containing salt water, brine, beneath arid basins, entails humongous evaporation processes that direct 383 tonnes of water into the air for every tonne of lithium carbonate. The environmental degradation is daunting. Bolivia has pilot projects with direct lithium extraction (DLE) to significantly reduce water consumption.

Summing up, while there are blights for much of the critical mineral activity, the overall balance sheet for critical minerals seems to be headed in the right direction.

And electric vehicles are indispensable for massive curtailing of oil consumption and hence global emissions reductions.

- Will Dubitsky