Canadian Right to Repair Lobby Event Receives Resounding Support

The Canadian automotive aftermarket made huge strides this week in moving forward on the issue of the consumer’s right to repair.
The Automotive Industries Association of Canada brought dozens of industry leaders and members of parliament together for the event in order to bring to light the difficulty that the independent aftermarket has in obtaining repair information and tools from the original equipment manufacturers.
The association organized a reception on Parliament Hill this past Monday evening where some 55 members of parliament and 40 other government officials met with 70 members of the automotive aftermarket. This event was followed by more than 30 meetings with key Members of Parliament of all parties 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 automotive service providers and their customers.”
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 diligently to follow up with additional meetings and presentations to government in response to their support of our initiative.
The Automotive Industries Association of Canada (AIA) is a national trade association representing the automotive aftermarket industry. The aftermarket is a $15.8 billion industry, and is proud to employ more than 220,000 people. The industry is composed of companies that manufacture, distribute and install automotive replacement parts, accessories, tools, and equipment. AIA represents wholesalers, retailers, warehouse distributors, manufacturers, rebuilders, national distributors, manufacturers’ agents, buying groups and machine shops. AIA’s mandate is to promote, educate and represent members in all areas that impact the growth and prosperity of the industry. Visit us on the web at www.aiacanada.com