Final touches on green rebate program unveiled

TORONTO, ON - The final details on Ontario's Green Commercial Vehicle Program (GCVP) are now available from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. GCVP provides rebates to fleets and owners for the purchase of environmentally-friendly and fuel-saving vehicles and technologies purchased after Sept. 1, 2017, including up to 50% of the incremental cost of a new electric truck, or an electric auxiliary power unit (APU). The program championed by groups like the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) aims to make it more affordable for businesses reduce their carbon footprint while helping the province meet its goals under the Climate Change Action Plan to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 37% below 1990 levels by 2030. OTA president Stephen Laskowski says after two years working on the project the group is delighted to see GCVP implemented. "[Ontario Transportation] Minister Del Duca has once again shown leadership by reinvesting carbon fees paid by our industry back into our sector, so that our industry can continue on the path of environmental advancement in Ontario," he said.

BYD to open Ontario plant

TORONTO, ON - Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD Co. says it is planning to open its first assembly plant in Ontario. A Government of Ontario delegation that included Premier Kathleen Wynne and Michael Chan, Minister of International Trade visited the company's headquarters in Shenzhen, China at the beginning of December on a mission to talk trade and tax credits. BYD says it will open the plant to conduct final assembly operations on short-range vehicles in the next 12 months, due in part to the investments the government is making in infrastructure to support electric vehicles in the next decade.

Ontario plans to energize economy with green power

TORONTO -- Ontario's proposed Green Energy Act should provide a boost to the trucking, construction and engineering sectors, according to Energy Minister George Smitherman.