Categories: Need to know

Prentice plans new emissions standards for heavy trucks

Will harmonize standards with the U.S.

by macleans.ca on Friday, May 21, 2010 2:41pm - 6 Comments

Heavy trucks, which account for six per cent of Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions, will soon be subjected to new emissions standards, Environment Minister Jim Prentice said at a news conference today. “These new regulations would apply to new heavy-duty vehicles and engines manufactured or imported for sale in Canada, starting between the 2014 and 2018 model years,” he said, adding that the new rules will also apply to full-sized pickups, delivery vehicles, buses, freight vehicles, service trucks, garbage trucks and dump trucks. Ottawa will work with the U.S. to harmonize standards, with a draft expected to arrive in the fall.

Reuters

Tags: Canada

http://intensedebate.com/people/Thwim Thwim

Don't most of the vehicles sold in Canada already meet the more stringent US standards?

Way to lead, Prentice… from behind.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

Given the sheer volume of cross-border heavy truck traffic, it makes perfect sense to harmonize standards with the US.

Got_Soverignty?

Why must we "Harmonize" anything with the United States? If we seek to improve our environmental standards for trucks, why can't we simply match what they are doing or even go one step better! Why must we enter into contract and adopt American laws, is that our politicians are lazy and wish to simply rubber stamp American law/policy into Canada?

Why put our ability to self govern in these areas at risk by adopting policy that is no where near a Made In Canada solution?

I can agree, our pollution and their pollution don't seem to respect national borders. But why must we adopt laws from another countries to govern Canada? Actions speak louder then words. If we want Canadian Standards to be on par with our neighbors to the south.. then lets just do it! Again.. why adopt foreign made legislation and sign binding agreements to do it?
Deep integration and harmonization are the incremental steps toward North American Union!

hosertohoosier

I don't see this as an example of lost sovereignty at all. Whether Canada has free trade with the US or not, they will remain our largest trading partner, and it will be in our interest to harmonize standards, so as not to put Canadian truckers at a competitive disadvantage.

You seem to end your comment with a slippery slope argument that I find unconvincing. There are areas where harmonization is indeed mutually beneficial, but there are actually many more in which the maintenance of Canada-US differences are economically advantageous. The basic argument for free trade is about comparative advantage – different countries are relatively better at producing different sets of goods. For industrialized countries, policies play a big role in determining comparative advantage. So if we adopted the exact same sets of policies everywhere, Canada would lose some of its advantages (eg. well-educated median workers) and the US some of its strengths (eg. a powerful engine of innovation).

Where do we draw the line on integration? I would put the Amero, the gouging of Canadian social programs (though Canada actually spends less than the US as a % of GDP) and a common defense policy in the hell no camp. I could see a common border policy having some advantages, but also some challenges. But I'm not sure modest changes to trucking standards are quite the hill I'd die on.

albert

How imaginative, consistent and…safe. Harperites adopt another made in America policy. This one goes well with the Clean Air Act (US failure, but that doesn't stop Steve), deregulation (abysmal failure in the US but Steve bought himself out of the mortgage thing with tax dollars), anti-abortion and…oh yes, not to forget, the Light Bulb thing (harperite tour duh force).
http://intensedebate.com/people/Bernie37 Bernie37

I don't know why they try to make it sound like a big deal. A .001% reduction in ommisions is a starting step but we far far to go.