Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

HARMAN BHANGHU: Ottawa has a choice - back down from this bureaucratic blunder, or explain to Canadians why they’re killing clean-tech jobs in BC while claiming to “support innovation.”


Ottawa’s EV mandate rules are so broken they’re forcing a BC clean-tech company back to diesel. Yes - you read that right. Canada’s first hybrid-electric semi-truck is being killed by red tape.

The company is Edison Motors in Golden, BC. They built a world-first hybrid-electric semi; it runs on electric motors + batteries and is recharged by a small ultra-efficient generator.

Transport Canada certified it. It slashes emissions. It’s Canadian-made. But Ottawa’s Environment Canada says they can’t sell it.

Why?  The generator is certified as “off-highway” instead of “on-highway.”

Here’s the kicker ... there’s NO “on-highway” generator of this kind in existence in Canada.

This isn’t policy - it’s just crazy.

Instead of backing Canadian innovation, Ottawa’s rules are forcing Edison to go back to building diesel trucks. It’s like banning solar panels because the bolts aren’t “approved” for rooftops.

And it’s not just an environmental loss. 

Edison is hiring dozens of skilled workers in rural BC. They’ve even built on-site housing so new staff won’t drive up local rents; a responsible, community-first approach you never see from big corporations.

If Ottawa doesn’t fix this, those jobs vanish. So do the emissions cuts. So does Canada’s shot at leading the world in hybrid-electric heavy transport.

Edison Motors should be celebrated, not strangled by red tape. The NDP-Liberals talk about supporting clean-tech jobs - but their radical EV mandate policies kill the jobs”

“Ottawa’s one-size-fits-all rules are punishing Edison Motors, a BC company that’s reducing emissions, creating jobs, and proving Canadian engineering can lead the world.” -Hon Chan, BC Conservative MLA

“Golden is proud to be home to Edison Motors. These are family-supporting jobs. Ottawa needs to fix this - before they turn a Canadian success story into a casualty of bad regulation.” -Scott McInnis, BC Conservative MLA

Conservatives are demanding that the Liberal Environment Minister Dabrusin:
✅ Grant Edison Motors an exemption NOW.
✅ Or change the rules so Canadian innovation isn’t punished.

The tools exist - financial hardship, low-volume manufacturing, or Canada-unique exemptions.

Ottawa has a choice.

Back down from this bureaucratic blunder or explain to Canadians why they’re killing clean-tech jobs in BC while claiming to “support innovation.”

The future of Canadian-made hybrid-electric trucks is on the line.

Edison Motors is ready to build them ... Ottawa just needs to get out of the way.




Harman Banghu is the MLA for Langley-Abbotsford and the Official Opposition Critic for Transportation. He was first elected in 2024.

He is a small-business owner in the heavy-load trucking industry and has seventeen years of experience within the aggregate hauling industry.

Harman is the proud father of two young children with his wife Courtney, and a coach and mentor active in the local football community.
 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Budget 2027: After a Decade of Decline, NDP Budget Delivers an Assault on Seniors, Working Families, and Small Businesses

Peter Milobar, BC Conservative Finance Critic, condemned the NDP government’s latest budget as the result of a decade of decline that has left British Columbians broke, unsafe, and paying more for less.   “After ten years of NDP mismanagement, this budget is an assault on seniors, working families, and the small businesses that drive our economy,” said Milobar. “The NDP have turned their back on the people working hardest to make ends meet and the seniors who built this province.” Milobar pointed to a new $1.1 billion annual income tax increase and warned that the government is piling new costs onto households already struggling with affordability.   “This government keeps asking British Columbians for more, while delivering less,” Milobar said. “The question people are asking is simple: Where has all the money gone?” Milobar noted that BC has gone from a surplus in the first year of NDP government to a projected deficit of more than $13 billion this year, while prov...
Post a Comment
Read more

WARD STAMER -- Those are REAL forestry numbers, not just made-up numbers

The following is a condensed version of remarks Kamloops – North Thompson MLA Ward Stamer’s made, regarding Forestry, in the BC Legislature, on Tuesday afternoon (02/24/2026)   Let’s talk a little bit, when we talk about Budget 2026, about the forest industry, which is near and dear to my heart. Forestry remains one of British Columbia’s foundational industries. It’s a pillar that built this province. Entire communities depend upon it. Interior towns, northern communities, Vancouver Island regions, the Kootenays, the Lower Mainland, with manufacturing facilities in Surrey and Maple Ridge, just to name a few — everywhere in BC is touched by forestry. One word that was not mentioned in Budget 2026 was forestry. That’s a shame, an incredible shame. It wasn’t an oversight – it was intentional. This government has driven forestry into the ground .... INTO THE GROUND! We can talk a little bit about some of the initiatives that this government has brought forth, to try to resurrect ...
Post a Comment
Read more

FORSETH -- Before anyone gets excited about one poll showing a candidate with a 25 percent lead, and 44 percent support overall, let’s give it a few more weeks

Is this based in reality -- how accurate are the numbers? In the past couple of weeks a couple of candidates, for the leadership of the BC Conservative Party, have been presenting polling results that they lead the pack – one even going so far as to say they have a lock on 44% of those who will be voting, and a twenty-five percent lead over the individual ranked second. I am going to say that this one, from Kerry-Lynne Findlay, is highly suspect. First of all the company conducting the poll, ERG National Research, is not a Member of Industry Bodies (the Canadian Research Insights Council), meaning they do not adhere to established industry standards for research, such as transparency, privacy, and methodological rigor. AI Overview states that ... based on alerts from the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC) and reports, ERG National Research should be treated with extreme caution regarding its reliability, and legitimacy, in conducting political polling. Before I even read this in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more