Electric car maker hopeful after Ottawa grants safety stamp

Last Updated: Monday, November 5, 2007 | 10:55 PM ET

CBC News

The founder of a Toronto electric car company says he's pleased that after 18 months, Transport Canada has given the vehicle its safety approval.

Last Friday, Transport Canada confirmed it had given the ZENN (zero emissions, no noise) electric car the National Safety Mark, a legal label that indicates the vehicle meets Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

Ian Clifford has called the ZENN cars 'golf carts on steroids.'
(CBC)

Ian Clifford, founder of the ZENN Motor Company, said he was "pleased and surprised" to receive the safety mark after a long wait.

In a CBC News report late last month, Clifford accused Ottawa of blocking him from selling the cars in Canada. Clifford said officials from Transport Canada gave him different responses every time he applied for the safety mark.

NDP Leader Jack Layton raised the issue during question period in the House of Commons and accused the government of throwing "bureaucratic roadblocks" in the way of innovation.

Built in St. Jerome, Que., the car is 100 per cent electric and is sold in most American states, Mexico and Europe.

Safety first: minister

Clifford said he received a lot of public support after the news report aired.

"Hundreds and hundreds of people wrote in and responded to what really was an outrageous situation federally," said Clifford.

Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon said he was unaware of the situation until he saw the story on CBC last month.

The ZENN electric car seats two people and is the size of a Mini Cooper.
(Courtesy ZENN Motor Company)

"So the next day I looked into it and I was told by my officials, 'No, the certificate hasn't been issued to this company because we were still waiting for information,'" said Cannon.

"Now that information has been tabled, the folks have looked at it and so we've issued the certificate."

The safety mark doesn't mean the cars are automatically approved for Canadian roads. It's up to the individual provinces and territories to legislate where the vehicles can be driven.

The car is considered a low-speed urban vehicle with a regulated maximum speed of 40 km/h. It's designed for areas where speed limits are 50 km/h or less, such as city-core or neighbourhood-type driving, said Clifford.

British Columbia is the only Canadian province that allows the registration of this type of vehicle for use on public roads.

Transport Canada officials said the department will advise provinces of the risks associated with low-speed vehicles in mixed traffic.

Cannon said the department considers safety the most important issue when considering the legislation.

Clifford said officials from Ontario and Quebec have told him those provinces intend to introduce legislation soon on low-speed vehicles.