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EV charging stations are small step toward leveling playing field

Editor: Re: Taxpayers shouldn't subsidize those who buy electric vehicles, letter to the editor, Oct. 3 I noted the letter from Jack Smythe with interest.

Editor:

Re: Taxpayers shouldn't subsidize those who buy electric vehicles, letter to the editor, Oct. 3

I noted the letter from Jack Smythe with interest. Subsidies are payments by governments for the public good, and are so entrenched in society that many people don't realize what subsidies we all use daily.

Existing subsidies for vehicles include: paved roads instead of dirt, signage, traffic enforcement instead of chaos. Subsidies for the oil and gas industries are ubiquitous at the provincial and federal level: for example, $4.5 billion for the Trans Mountain pipeline. Canada subsidizes the oil and gas industries the most (per GDP) of the G7 countries.

As for taxes paid at the pump, they are not "user fees." A Wikipedia search shows the federal tax portion (about nine per cent) goes directly to general revenues, not specifically to transit or roads. And the Canadian Taxpayers Association states that provincial governments are not legally bound to spend taxes collected at the pump on any specific program.

I believe that it is time that subsidies at all government levels are spread more fairly to include EV adoption, and stop being weighted toward the internal combustion vehicle. The Delta EV charging stations are a small step toward this goal.

Robert Miller