Who impeded the electric car?

Grand plan for electric cars takes shape in Ontario

Well this is good news all right, but why does it take an American company to get things into gear in this province? Why aren't we looking first to a Canadian company for this role? And along the same line, where is the support for the Canadian-made Zenn car? Shouldn't we be encouraging Canadian businesses first?

Quick background: The Zenn car is considered a low-speed vehicle, also known as a neighbourhood electric vehicle (NEV). Such cars are especially suited for urban dwellers since they don't have lengthy commutes.

It's a fact that despite the Zenn car being made in Canada, and the company having been around since 2000, it's still not road-legal anywhere in Canada except B.C. and Québec. Know where it's being sold? The States. Know where we first saw them? Portland, Oregon. Why? Because almost all of the continental U.S.' state governments have passed legislation allowing NEVs on local public roads, and almost all of the Canadian provincial governments have not. It's a travesty that foot-dragging provincial governments are simultaneously keeping an environmentally friendly option out of our hands while impeding a Canadian business' success. We should be using a Canadian company to set up the infrastructure to support electric cars, and offering incentives for people to buy Canadian electric cars in particular.