CAW head blasts 'green god' Buzz Hargrove says strict emission rules on new cars will cripple auto industry Chris Vander Doelen CanWest News Service
PORT ELGIN, Ont. -- The "insanity" of the environmental movement is now the biggest threat to Canadian automotive jobs, Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove said Friday.
Between the federal government's rebates to Japanese-built cars, the threat of California-style emissions standards spreading to Canada and the U.S. considering higher fuel efficiency, the CAW will almost certainly face more job losses, Hargrove said.
And none of the environmental policies being promoted by politicians will stop global warming, Hargrove fumed to an annual council meeting in Port Elgin, Ont.
"It's the insanity of the environmental movement -- everybody's trying to outgreen each other," Hargrove said, singling out Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President George Bush for his harshest criticism.
"Politicians have gotten the green god and now they're running with it for the next election."
Four provinces -- B.C., Quebec, Nova Scotia and Manitoba -- are now considering implementing California-style emissions standards, which would be "disastrous" for autoworkers and the Canadian economy, Hargrove said in his annual report to members. Such standards would mean only one of 10 Big Three cars and trucks assembled by the CAW in Canada could be sold in those provinces.
California standards "would mean every God damn product we build can't be sold here except the Impala," which is built as an E-85 flexfuel vehicle that runs on ethanol -- even though E-85 is available in only two gas stations in Canada.
"It's insane," he said of the higher standards. "I've got a message for the politicians; stop playing politics with the environment."
The biggest environmental threat to CAW jobs may be Bush's proposed plan to require that fuel efficiency of U.S. cars improve by four per cent per year.
General Motors has put all development of its rear-wheel-drive vehicles on hold until the matter is settled. GM's two Oshawa, assembly plants were to start building the next-generation rear-wheel-drive cars next year.
Hargrove said there is no clear indication yet how Bush's plan might impact GM in Canada, "but I know one thing: it's not good news."
The four per cent improvement rule could cause the cancellation of all of the vehicles scheduled to be built in Canada.
"If I sound upset, I am," Hargrove said. "We're losing ground. Everybody seems to have given up on the autoworker."
Is E-85 available in California?