According to CBC News, the École de Conduite Taauchiiwaatin – Driving School in Chisasibi — a village in northern Quebec located some 1,700 km north of Montreal, recently installed its first electric vehicle (EV) charger.
Not only that, the institution even scored government funding to supplement the purchase and modification of its first-ever all-electric car. The driving school mainly caters to the Cree community living in rural Quebec, and having an EV and charging infrastructure will allow it to preach electrification at the very inception of individuals’ lives on the road.
The Chisasibi EV charger was installed as part of the Quebec government’s “e-roule” pilot project, which is designed to help driving schools across the province electrify.
If Quebec intends on honoring its 2035 ban on the sales of new gas-powered cars in the province, programs like “e-roule” aren’t just effective — they’re necessary.
As part of e-roule, the government tanks a portion of the overall cost of a charger, modifications required to make purchased EVs serviceable for driving schools, and other costs.
The EV charger installed in Chisasibi was delivered to the village all the way up from Montreal, in a 3,200 km round-trip by a 100% electric vehicle.
Raymond Menarick, owner and operator of the Conduite Taauchiiwaatin driving school, couldn’t be happier. “It’s something new and we’re excited about it,” he said.
Quebec, along with the government of Canada, plans to ban the sale of new gas cars in 2035.
