SASKATOON — Glenn Wright, one of the organizers of the Earth Action Day rally that took place on Saturday, April 26, at Kinsmen Park, believes electric vehicles can survive Prairie winters and thrive in Saskatchewan if the provincial government backs them up with more charging stations. After all, despite living outside the city, the legal advisor at Procido LLP has been driving an EV for a while.
“I live in a rural area. I live about 40 kilometres west of Saskatoon and have been driving EVs for seven years. The infrastructure already exists to provide for our transportation,” Wright told Â鶹´«Ã½AV at the rally.
“An electric vehicle uses only about a quarter of the energy of a combustion vehicle. For Pierre Poilievre to say that EVs don't work in rural Saskatchewan is not true. I'm a living example of having driven already 250,000 kilometres on electricity.”
Poilievre, during a press conference on Friday, April 25, at TCU Place, implied that EVs will not work in the Prairies, such as Saskatchewan, during the winter. He jokingly suggested that his opponent, Liberal leader Mark Carney, drive an EV in the Prairies.
Wright said charging stations should be built for those who drive an EV and want to take long trips from Saskatchewan to places in Alberta, such as Calgary, as there are towns and other cities in the Prairies where they can be set up.
“We only recently got a high-speed charging station at Kindersley. Before that, you had to drive south to Swift Current and then take Highway 1 to get to Calgary. We have a lot of work to do to improve the high-speed charging infrastructure. The existing electrical grid can handle personal transportation for almost everybody throughout rural Saskatchewan and the province,” added Wright.
He also shared his thoughts on the Conservatives and Liberals federal election campaigns.
“Unfortunately, in this election, there hasn't been much discussion from any of the candidates about climate change directly. I think that's because we have an election that is really about the future of Canada,” said Wright.
“But what I will say is that I notice the Conservatives, in addition to not talking about climate, are also talking about eliminating most of the green policy and initiatives to promote the adoption of electric cars, for example. Or they're strong proponents of eliminating all pollution pricing. These are regressive policies that will move us backward and further away from the clean economy we need to adopt. On the other hand, I see the Liberal Party have finally started talking about a national electrical grid.”
He said it is essential, especially in Saskatchewan, that we fully utilize renewable energy by building an interprovincial connection and co-operating with Alberta and Manitoba, as well as use large grid-scale battery storage for hydroelectric power, so that more electric vehicles can be connected.
“We can’t maximize our renewable potential in Saskatchewan without that east-west grid. … Our energy future hinges on that east-west national electrical grid. We're sending an important message to politicians and policymakers, and they need to hear it, especially because we're in a federal election right now,” said Wright.
“I suffer from eco-anxiety, and I'm sure some of you do too. Take a moment to look around and see what's happening to the planet; it can be troubling. As we were walking, I saw people giving us the finger, and others giving us the thumbs down. It can be a lonely experience living in Saskatchewan. We're not alone in this fight for our future and care for the planet.”
He added that he does not see a private company wanting to invest in building a new pipeline connecting Canada’s east coast to the west. However, he said, a national electrical grid and infrastructure are necessary to unlock the potential of renewable energy and transform the country into an era of electric vehicles, which is already happening globally.
“Unfortunately, we may not have had a pipeline going to the east much earlier. However, the situation now is that we are moving into the age of electricity. And so, just like coal was what brought Britain through the Industrial Revolution, and they prospered on coal, the United States prospered on oil. China is now prospering in terms of renewable energy, AI, robots, batteries, electric vehicles, solar energy and wind energy,” said Wright.
“They [China] have the manufacturing capacity, and that's where the future is going. Those are where the economic opportunities are. I don't think you're seeing any private interest wanting to build a new pipeline. If we did need more pipeline capacity, it would be easier to optimize the existing pipelines by adding more pumping stations or similar measures.”
