Budget Officer Further Probing Ottawa’s EV Battery Plant Deals

Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux waits to appear before the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance in Ottawa on Oct. 25, 2022. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) Yves Giroux is further analyzing the federal government’s large subsidy deals made with both Volkswagen and Stellantis to incentivize the automakers to build electric-vehicle battery plants in Canada.

The PBO is requesting that the Department of Industry disclose to his office a copy of the agreement letter announced earlier this month between the federal and Ontario governments and Stellantis and LG Energy Solution, committing about $15 billion in subsidies for the companies to continue building an EV battery plant in southern Ontario.