On April 16, Pillar Society Ottawa/Gatineau President Neil Bisson appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry and Technology to provide a national security perspective on Canada’s electric vehicle policies, specifically as they relate to Chinese EVs.

This was not about electric vehicles.
It was not about competition or innovation.

It was about national security.

During his remarks, he framed the issue the same way he did throughout his career as an intelligence officer:

Motivation. Suitability. Access:

Motivation: The People’s Republic of China continues to conduct cyber espionage, foreign interference, and influence operations to advance its strategic interests.

Suitability: Canada has already taken action in the past, banning certain technologies and addressing risks tied to surveillance systems and digital platforms.

Access: This is where the concern becomes critical. Modern EVs are not just vehicles; they are data collection platforms on wheels, continuously gathering geolocation, behavioural, and environmental data.

Now ask yourself:
What happens when tens of thousands of these connected systems—built within an environment where companies are legally required to cooperate with state intelligence—are integrated into Canada’s transportation networks and electrical grid?

That is not a hypothetical.
That is a policy decision being made right now.

Once that level of access is established, it becomes incredibly difficult to detect—and even harder to reverse.

Neil Bisson’s opening statement begins at 11:16 in the link below:

https://parlvu.parl.gc.ca/Harmony/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2/20260417/-1/44749