The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that the simplest approach is often the best when encouraging Canadians to buy electric vehicles and persuading manufacturers to enter this market. A Globe editorial says EV sales are still low, and carmakers not meeting federal targets this year risk hefty penalties. The federal mandate began a 60-day review as of September. The federal review results are not public, but The Globe says the mandate should be scrapped. Prime Minister Mark Carney's trade deal with China is the better approach. Lowering tariffs on Chinese-built EVs offers a simpler way to encouraging electric vehicles: competition. Opening the doors wide to these vehicles could, in fact, do serious damage to domestic manufacturers. However, the trade deal does not do that. The door is open only a crack: 49,000 vehicles would amount to less than 3 per cent of domestic auto sales. Now Canadian consumers can demonstrate what they really do want. The irony is that Canadian automakers insisted that the EV mandate could not work because there was not a market for these vehicles. Now the argument is allowing even small numbers of Chinese-built EVs into Canada will devastate domestic manufacturers. Which is it?