An Ontario court has ruled in favour of Tesla Motors Canada after the company filed an application claiming the Ontario government targeted the company when it cancelled the province’s electric vehicle rebate program
In its application, Tesla claimed it has been treated unfairly in the cancellation of a program providing rebates to Ontario residents who bought electric vehicles.
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The company said the decision by Premier Doug Ford’s government to halt the program in July left hundreds of its customers no longer eligible for rebates they expected to get when they ordered their vehicles.
Tesla claimed it was also left out of a program that allowed customers of other electric vehicle brands to continue receiving rebates during a transition period.
The court found the government’s decision to restrict the transition program to franchised dealerships was “arbitrary.”
“The minister singled out Tesla for reprobation and harm without provided (sic) Tesla any opportunity to be heard or any fair process whatsoever,” Myers wrote.
However, the court will not stop limiting the transition program to franchised dealers.
“Doing that effectively reshapes the transition program and requires the government to fund subsidies to Tesla’s customers, I am not prepared to make such an order,” the ruling said.
A Tesla spokesperson told Global News in a statement the company is “pleased” with the ruling, calling the government’s transition plan “unfair and unlawful.”
The Ontario government said the decision to revoke the rebate program was made for “valid public reasons,” and Tesla’s application should be dismissed.
Jessica Trepanier, a spokesperson for Attorney General Caroline Mulroney, told Global News in a brief statement Monday evening provincial officials are still reviewing the decision.
She said the government “will make a decision on how to proceed in the coming days.”
— With files from The Canadian Press
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