This article originally appeared in the Financial Post. Below is an excerpt from the article.
By Jack Mintz, July 14, 2023
Forget “energy transition” and “just transition” to describe the transformation of our energy systems. Call it the “boondoggle transition” because that’s what it is turning into.
The $30 billion to be paid by the federal and Ontario governments to just two electric-vehicle battery companies — Volkswagen and Stellantis-LG Energy Solution — is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s expected that together the two projects will “create” 5,500 jobs (though most of the workers likely will come from other jobs) at an eye-popping ten-year cost of $5.5 million per worker. Even if you spread the earnings over 10 years, that’s $550,000 a year, nine times the average Canadian’s annual earnings of $61,000.
Other companies are lining up to build EV battery operations, including Toyota, Ford and Sweden’s Northvolt Ab. Federal Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, chequebook in hand, is still excited about building the auto sector of the future even after its poor performance over the past decade despite a heavy dose of subsidies and NAFTA trade protection.
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