A Canadian manufacturer is crying foul over a bureaucratic tussle that it believes is blocking its low-speed car from residential streets - but government officials say that there is no conspiracy to kill the electric car.

ZENN Motor Co. has sold thousands of its vehicles in the United States, but the Zero Emissions No Noise vehicles cannot be purchased for use on Canadian roads.

“I’m mystified,” said Ian Clifford, the founder and chief executive officer of the company. “I’ve heard certain bureaucrats at Transport Canada, say to me, if it’s the last thing they do, they’re going to keep low-speed vehicles off the road.”

The federal government first opened the door to low-speed vehicles in 2000, but the Toronto-based company only received the nod of approval for its 100 per cent electric vehicle from Transport Canada last fall, following media reports and a public outcry.

It is now up to individual provinces to decide whether they will allow the cars on their streets, and whether to impose any restrictions.

Clifford has been in discussions with officials from B.C., Ontario and Quebec, to move forward, but he said in an interview that Transport Canada interfered with the process when it proposed a new definition for low-speed vehicles in December. The new definition suggested that it would not be safe to drive low-speed vehicles on streets that allow conventional or mainstream passenger vehicles, he said.

Federal officials deny that they were deliberately trying to put up road blocks to stop the car.

“With all due respect to Mr. Clifford, ZENN’s claims that Transport Canada would not allow LSVs on streets is false,” Jessie Chauhan, a senior Transport Canada communications adviser, wrote in an e-mail. “As mentioned previously, that is not a federal mandate or decision.”

The ZENN can reach a top speed of 40 km/hour and its 2008 model retails at about $16,000 US. The cars are recharged from a standard outlet and need as little as four hours to juice up.

Clifford noted that it has a stellar safety record in the U.S. with zero fatal accidents despite the thousands of cars on the roads. He also questioned why Transport Canada decided to change the definition of low-speed vehicles without conducting crash-testing on the ZENN or having specific evidence of safety concerns.

Chauhan explained that provinces and territories indicated that they appreciated having guidance from the federal government on low-speed vehicles, which are not required to meet the same crash performance requirements of a mainstream vehicle.

“It is very possible that the provinces/territories may refer to the Transport Canada definition if they decide to not permit LSVs on their streets, but that is their decision,” Chauhan wrote. “B.C. has stated that regardless of the Transport Canada definition, it will still allow them on streets, and Quebec has stated that it will expand its pilot program of allowing LSVs on some streets.”

But Clifford said he was flabbergasted by the red tape, since he believes that low-speed vehicles are actually safer for the most vulnerable people on the roads.

“So if you think of people using smaller, lightweight, zero emission vehicles in an urban context, it’s a much safer proposition for a pedestrian in the event that they’re hit by a vehicle,” he said.

The delays are also annoying thousands of potential Canadian customers who are sending the company letters of support and lining up to buy the vehicles which are manufactured in St-Jerome, Que., Clifford said.

“We have a product that fits a very, very important transportation niche,” he said. “It’s built in Canada, it’s available today, and we sell them all in the United States. How ludicrous is that?”

Clifford said he is frustrated and running out of ideas, but is counting on the provinces to take the lead.

“This is not rocket science we’re talking (about) here. It’s very easy legislation,” he said. “Since we don’t seem to be getting anywhere federally, we really now would turn to the provinces to step up and take control of this situation . . . the provinces have an opportunity to step up and make a difference.”

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