I’m very skeptical of EV rebates. In Germany, this has only led to EV makers jacking up prices by $4,000 or whatever the rebate was. It’s redistribution of wealth to the top in the form of our tax money. When the rebates were axed here, prices for EVs and wall chargers dropped over night.

Furthermore, I can accept that owning a car is kind of a necessity in much of Manitoba. And it should be a somewhat decent car too given your harsh winters. But seriously, even if the rebate didn’t go straight into the EV maker’s pockets, should we really give $4,000 to individuals who can afford to sink $70,000 into a new car? Put that money into something everyone can benefit from, like cycling or pedestrian infrastructure and public transport.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Manitobans who buy or lease electric vehicles may now apply for the rebates NDP leader Wab Kinew promised during the 2023 provincial election campaign.

“We’ve seen jurisdictions like British Columbia and Quebec introduced these rebate programs early on and we’ve seen great uptake in in them hitting their targets,” Schmidt said Tuesday in Winnipeg’s South St. Vital neighbourhood, accompanied by the owners of two electric vehicles.

The institution of EV rebates in Manitoba is thus a “no-brainer” in a province with low electricity prices, said Jim Stanford, an economist with the Centre for Future Work in Vancouver.

Fort Whyte PC MLA Obby Khan said if the goal is to reduce carbon emissions, that money could be better spent on public transit.

The potential PC leadership candidate — Khan is among several MLAs mulling a run — claimed interest in EVs is waning.

Schmidt said the former PC government is to blame for the capacity crunch because it did not build any new hydro-electric dams or wind farms.

The original article contains 557 words, the summary contains 158 words. Saved 72%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!