BC’s Environment Minister says a target for zero-emission new car sales in the province is going better than expected.

The Zero-Emissions Vehicle Act that passed this spring calls for 10 per cent of new-vehicle sales to be electric, and George Heyman says this year the province has already hit 9 per cent.

“People want to get into cleaner vehicles, they want to drive vehicles that don’t have to stop at the gas pump, but for many people there’s a financial obstacle,” he said. ” We’ve been trying to make that more possible for people, and people are taking us up on that.”

He says they’ve been successful so far because of the combination of BC’s rebates for electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles combined with some federal rebates.

Heyman was speaking to NL News from Toronto – where he and Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver were receiving a sustainability award and met with industry.

“There are people from Walmart, from Telus, from Canon, from major corporations who are looking for ways to reduce their ecological footprint, while providing the kind of services and products that Canadians want.,” Heyman added. “There’s also Indigenous people who are working with clean energy companies.”

By 2040, all light-duty car and truck sales in the province will have to be zero-emission vehicles under the new law.