MOTOR VEHICLE FUEL CONSUMPTION STANDARDS ACT PROCLAIMED

OTTAWA — The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, and the Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources Canada welcomed the proclamation into law of the Motor Vehicle Fuel Consumption Standards Act (MVFCSA).

"Regulating the fuel efficiency of new motor vehicles is an important element of the Government's legal framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Proclaiming the Act is an important step towards achieving one mandatory national standard," said Minister Cannon.

"The proclamation of this act is good news for Canada," said Minister Lunn. "Setting mandatory fuel consumption standards will lead to sustained improvements in fuel efficiency and help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles purchased in Canada."

In 2005, the Government of Canada and the Canadian automotive industry signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) stipulating that the Canadian automotive industry would take actions to voluntarily reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of new vehicles in Canada. The agreement called on the automobile industry to cut GHG emissions from light-duty vehicles (cars, minivans, sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks) so that by 2010, annual emissions reductions will reach 5.3 megatonnes (Mt).

Under the MVFCSA, fuel consumption standards will be established for light-duty road motor vehicles. These standards will come into force following the expiration of the MOU between the auto industry and the Government of Canada in 2010 and will be implemented for model year 2011.

MVFCSA standards will be developed with input from stakeholders. They will be designed for Canada to maximize our environmental and economic benefits, will be achievable within the integrated North American market and will be benchmarked against a stringent, dominant North American standard. The new standards will be published by the end of 2008.

For more information on the Government of Canada's ecoTRANSPORT initiatives, please visit http://www.ecoaction.gc.ca/