I move that, in the opinion of this House, the Ontario building code should be amended to restore the requirements for electric vehicle supply equipment that applied to houses served by a garage, carport or driveway, as per subsection 9.34.4 of division B of O. Reg. 332/12, as it read on January 1, 2018.

As a girl from Oshawa, I support the automotive sector and always want to grow manufacturing. My community was immeasurably shaped by automotive innovation and auto workers. I want to do my part to ensure the road ahead is bright and sure.

We will all be proud to build electric vehicles right here in our province and proud of the good jobs and the auto workers who will build them. But Ontario needs a real EV plan so we can charge them and drive them. We are not EV-ready, and we are falling behind. We need a serious EV strategy to grow development, manufacturing and the charging infrastructure. We need EV-ready homes.

This initiative aims to make it easier and more affordable for drivers to transition to electric vehicles by requiring home builders to include rough-ins for charging infrastructure in newly built homes. As the official opposition critic for infrastructure, transportation and highways, I have the opportunity to talk to folks who are driving the future and building the province. Months ago, I met with the Electricity Distributors Association and our local utility, Oshawa Power. Daniel Arbour, the president and CEO of Oshawa Power, made a reference to Quebec’s buildings code’s at-home-charging rough-in provisions for new homes. I was interested, because it makes sense to start at home when creating a solution that will make a difference to the most Ontarians. New homes should be built with the future in mind.

The building code had been amended in 2017 to include a requirement for EV charger rough-ins, which was to take effect for new builds after 2020, but it never did. In 2018, the newly elected PC government undid this section in the Ontario building code around the same time that they also removed chargers from GO stations and cancelled the rebate for EV buyers. I want this government to reverse course and undo their undo.

We have seen this government rethink positions before and repeal or reverse or reconsider, and I am asking them to listen to industry, environmental and energy folks, and make it easier for more Ontarians to charge their electric vehicles at home. The future is on its way, and it will be here by 2035.

The federal government’s plan for Canada to move away from fully gas-powered cars and toward electric vehicles is that by 2035, 100% of new light-duty vehicles sold would have to be electric vehicles. These gas-powered vehicles account for about half of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.

In a government news release announcing that this province was investigating options for a new ultra-low overnight electricity rate, this PC government’s former Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks said, “Electric vehicles are a powerful tool in the fight against climate change and a critical way to reduce emissions.”

Further, this Minister of Energy said, “Introduction of a new ultra-low overnight price plan that would benefit shift workers and support EV adoption is our next step as we focus on helping electricity customers save money....”

The former Minister of Transportation said, “This new initiative will help electric vehicle owners save on costs, while also supporting the use of these environmentally friendly vehicles across the province.”

Speaker, I don’t often read PC government news releases, but today I believe we share common ground, and I’m trying to remind them that we want to support mass adoption of the electric vehicles that we are all excited to be building here.

Honda will be investing $15 billion to build four new EV plants in Ontario, and that is a big deal. The deal includes the construction of the Honda’s first electric vehicle assembly plant and a new stand-alone EV battery plant in Alliston. This Premier called the investment “a game-changer for the industry” and a “tremendous win for Ontario.” He said his government is supporting the investment with direct and indirect incentives worth $2.5 billion.

Honda Canada’s president, Jean Marc Leclerc, was recently in Oshawa, and I ran into him at the Canadian Automotive Museum. I appreciated talking with him about Ontario’s EV future, and I just heard him on CBC Radio, where he spoke about mass adoption of EVs and the need to find solutions to eliminate people’s anxieties about owning an electric vehicle. In that interview, Monsieur Leclerc said, “In the end, what we’re seeing right now is a matter of the conditions not being optimal for mass adoption for Canadians. We as an auto industry don’t control all these aspects for success. We can bring vehicles to market, we have to sell them, people have to be comfortable buying them.”

He went on to say, “We’re trying to address environmental concerns, climate change. Governments are taking certain actions to accelerate these developments and those investments in a very short period of time. With that needs to come all the other components of that ecosystem to come together and assure that ultimate objective gets realized.”

Charging infrastructure, specifically at-home infrastructure, is part of that EV ecosystem. People won’t buy them if they can’t charge them, and there is more that we can do. The provincial government has made significant investments to bring EV manufacturing to Ontario, but without a reliable consumer market, we’ve already seen Ford Motor Co. delay their EV production by two years. Unifor members have been left in the lurch. Stakeholders in the automotive industry have shared their concerns that the government is not doing enough to encourage EV adoption.

I appreciate being a part of this important work, and I want to thank industry and community partners for their input into my bill. I have been glad to get frank and clear advice from many who see the value in planning ahead to support the future of EVs. Here is part of a letter from the Electricity Distributors Association:

“Dear Ms. French,

“The Electricity Distributors Association ... welcomes your recent tabling of Bill 199, the EV-Ready Homes Act ... 2024. As you know, the EDA represents Ontario’s local hydro utilities, the part of our electricity system closest to customers.

“The EDA is pleased to see that the EV-Ready Homes Act would respond to our mutual goal of an electrified Ontario. Whether it’s the federal government’s net-zero target, the province’s investments in EV manufacturing or changes in customer expectations—mass adoption of EVs is coming, and it is time to get ready. Building new homes with the expected changes in future electricity use in mind—particularly EVs—makes sense, and it will ensure Ontario is ready for its electric future.”

I want to thank the president and chief executive officer, Teresa Sarkesian, for her letter.

Speaker, it was Daniel Arbour, the president and CEO of Oshawa Power, who first sparked my interest in EV-ready homes. I am pleased to share his letter today:

“Dear Ms. French,

“Oshawa Power is pleased to provide this letter of support for Bill 199, EV-Ready Homes Act ... and your motion 109 that would amend the Building Code Act ... to make homes ‘EV ready.’

“With more than 130 years of experience in delivering services and bringing Oshawa forward through innovation and technology, we know and understand the need to provide residents with the services they want and need, and be prepared for emerging technologies, such as the future of electric vehicles.

“The electricity grid is undergoing a period of transformative change due to the growth of electric vehicles, and other emerging technologies, our focus is to modernize the electric grid to ensure stability and this bill will enable homeowners to make a seamless transition to electric mobility. Many customers are reluctant to make the move to electric mobility because their home electrical panels need to be upgraded in addition to installing an EV charger, resulting in additional delays and unplanned costs.

“Oshawa Power also believes the future in Ontario is electric and this amendment to the building code requiring the addition of a 200 amp panel and the roughed in electrical box for EV chargers in the home will make the transition to electric a smooth and seamless experience for Ontario residents.”

That’s from Daniel Arbour, the president and CEO of Oshawa Power.

We have a responsibility to support the market. We can’t only support the auto manufacturers in building the vehicles. We want them to be able to sell them so that they will keep making them here.

I know a thing or two about good auto jobs. I live in a city that built General Motors. Those good union jobs ensured workers could buy homes, vehicles; that they could participate in and invest in our community. We have to be thoughtful in how to support a strong future for auto workers across our communities.

Some basic EV economics: We are going to have the supply side covered, but we are not being smart about the demand side. People are EV-curious and are wanting their next vehicle to be electrified, but they don’t yet see the infrastructure so they can charge them. They want to be able to charge them at home.

Building new homes is a priority for everyone, and we are building new homes, so let’s build them right and EV-ready. Supporting EV-ready homes today will ensure every new home we build is ready for the future. To date, the Premier has said no to this, but let’s talk this through.

We need to weigh the minimal cost to plan ahead, amortized over decades, against the hefty cost to retrofit, paid all at once. The costs of upgrading a home to allow convenient charging are significant, with estimates as high as $3,000 to $5,000. This is a deterrent for anyone looking to get off of fossil fuels and into an electric vehicle. It is far more cost-effective for home builders to include the rough-in for chargers at construction.

We also all agree that great automotive jobs are important to keep in the province, and that investment in manufacturing and the future of electric vehicles is part of our economic and electrified future as a province.

Speaker, I am ever the optimist. Originally, this government removed chargers from GO stations and removed this forward-thinking section of the Ontario building code. However, we have seen this PC government investing in charging infrastructure, and clearly, they recognize there’s a need. I’m hopeful that their recognition of the problem of access to charging will motivate them to adopt this initiative today and ensure all new homes are built EV-ready.

We will be building cars and making batteries and hopefully strengthening the energy grid to support our electric future, but we want to make sure people can charge their vehicles. The future is electric, and we have an opportunity to do something useful today. I urge this House to pass this today so that we can have EV-ready homes tomorrow.

Speaker, today we have an opportunity to prepare for tomorrow. We need EV-ready homes. I’ve been proud to bring this achievable solution to this Legislature, and it is buoyed with support from industry and those interested in that bright future. I do hope that the government will make this happen.

From a letter of support from Unifor national president Lana Payne:

“On behalf of nearly 40,000 Unifor members working in the auto and component parts manufacturing sector, I am writing to express my strong support for the proposed EV-Ready Homes Act ... and its companion motion 109, intending to amend the Building Code Act to accommodate for electric vehicle (EV) adoption. These proposed amendments will facilitate the future installation of EV supply equipment in new homes, which is a forward-thinking and necessary step to ensure Canada’s automotive sector infrastructure meets the needs of its net-zero transportation future.

“Ontario is positioning itself as a leader in North American EV production. Tens of thousands of jobs in this province will depend on a well-functioning EV supply chain. However, it is crucial that our infrastructure evolves in a way that both supports this shift towards zero-emission vehicle options and, in turn, good jobs here at home.

“Advancing our infrastructure today can save homeowners significant future costs, making the inevitable transition to EVs more accessible and affordable. This will have a positive effect on EV demand, property values and home safety. This sort of holistic approach to policy development is precisely the type of government approach our union envisioned within our 2022 auto industrial policy road map, Navigating the Road Ahead.

“I commend you on this initiative to modernize Ontario’s housing infrastructure and promoting sustainable living. Unifor urges all parties to support this legislation, and to ensure its swift passage at Queen’s Park.”

I want to thank Lana Payne and all the autoworkers across the province.

Making sure we have EV-ready homes is one small but mighty, and achievable, piece of the puzzle.

I hope the Premier will switch gears and commit to ensuring we’re EV-ready at home and on the road.