Toronto, Ontario — April 22, 2015 — Ottawa has announced new funding for the automotive industry that will aid in the continued research and development of new technologies, as well as ensure its economic prosperity as part of the government’s recently-released federal budget.
The budget — announced April 21 — includes a number of measures that recognize the need for the auto industry and its suppliers to both remain competitive and be able to address future challenges through the research and innovation of new technologies.
The Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association (CVMA) welcomes the federal budget’s announcement of the Automotive Supplier Innovation Program. This will help address the critical gap in support for industry-based product development that lies between the basic research conducted in universities and fully-commercialized products in the marketplace.
Increasing the pace of innovation throughout the vehicle supply chain is essential as we strive to double the fuel economy of the light duty vehicle fleet by 2025, along with the added demand for enhancements to vehicle safety and connectivity. The regulatory requirements and consumer demand for these new technologies are such that virtually every vehicle component and manufacturing process used to make them will need to be re-engineered.
“We welcome the opportunity to collaborate in the structuring of this program to ensure it succeeds in developing innovative solutions that will help attract product development activities and provide high-technology jobs for Canadians here at home in all segments of the Canadian auto industry,” says CVMA President Mark Nantais.
The announcement of the 10-year term extension of the Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance (ACCA) is an important measure that supports companies in making productivity improvements through investing in new machinery and equipment to enhance their ability to compete in today’s global markets.
“The ACCA will help Canadian auto manufacturing companies and auto parts suppliers continue to innovate,” Nantais says. “It is an important factor for success in today’s highly competitive global markets, where Canadian auto manufacturing companies and their suppliers must continue to invest in advanced manufacturing to improve productivity by utilizing leading-edge technology in both products and processes.”
Under the joint Canada-US Perimeter Security and Competitiveness initiative progress has been made through aligning regulations between the two countries to ensure greater efficiencies at our international border crossings. Continuing to implement the Beyond the Border and Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) Action Plans with the United States as part of this initiative is essential to the competitiveness of many economic sectors that are fully integrated on both sides of the border.
Environment Canada’s Chemical Management Plan and its alignment with that of the United States’ plan has been identified in the RCC forward action. We hope that the additional funding announced will be used to support the delivery of this key action item, particularly as it relates to automotive products and vehicle manufacturing processes.
For more information on CVMA, please visit cvma.ca.
