AIA Right-to-Repair Lobby Event Takes Issue to Parliament Hill

The Automotive Industries Association of Canada (AIA) organized a massed lobbying effort on October 18th that dramatically underscored the issue of the consumer’s right to repair to the Federal government and the opposition. AIA Canada also organized a reception on Parliament Hill on Monday evening followed by over 30 meetings with key Members of Parliament on Tuesday. “The response we received from government this week was nothing less than astounding,” said Ray Datt, President of AIA Canada. “We can honestly say that in every meeting and conversation we had with MPs and their staff, the political parties supported our efforts and offered to help us reach an agreement with the vehicle manufacturers. The ability of the independent automotive aftermarket service and repair sector to easily and affordably access information to diagnose and repair vehicles is vital to our entire industry,” continued Datt. “We have tried to get voluntary participation from the OEMs to give access to their diagnostic information and tools with no success, so we were left with very little choice but to bring this to the attention of government. We are confident that we will now see encouraging developments in the months to come to solve this issue for both the ASPs and their customers.” The reception was attended by 60 MPs, many of whom were accompanied by their staff, as well as 65 senior industry representatives. On Tuesday AIA members had over 30 meetings with MPs, including the Prime Minister’s Office, to raise awareness of the consumer’s right to repair and to discuss options. AIA staff and members are now working to follow up with additional meetings and presentations to government in response to their support of the initiative.