Automotive group calls for new federal 'right-to-repair' legislation
OTTAWA — Canada’s independent auto repair shops are calling on Ottawa to pass beefed-up right-to-repair legislation, saying that drivers are getting hosed by the anticompetitive practices of vehicle manufacturers.
The Automotive Industries Association of Canada (AIA) says the federal government can save drivers up to $500 per year on common vehicle repairs by mandating that automakers make proprietary repair and maintenance data publicly available to non-dealer-affiliated repairers.
AIA spokesperson Emily Holtby says the increasing computerization of cars makes it essential for independent repair shops to access the data that’s under the hood of newer vehicles.
“Our issue is that we need information from the automakers directly to diagnose and service a vehicle. And with vehicles becoming more and more advanced, accessing this information is becoming increasingly complicated,” said Holtby.
Holtby said its increasingly becoming part of carmakers’ business models to use digital barriers to force consumers to use their in-house repair services.
“We might be able to access a certain amount of information but not all of it. And so the consumer is forced to go to their dealership instead and get repairs done at a premium,” said Holtby.
Holtby noted that independent repair shops charge up to 30 per cent less for routine repairs and as much as 80 per cent less for heavy-duty repairs than dealer-affiliated shops.
She said this problem is especially acute for electric vehicles, which tend to have more computer code and fewer moving parts than fuel-powered cars.
“Companies like Tesla make it especially difficult for third-parties to get their hands on that repair data, so then Tesla drivers are at major disadvantage because they have to live near a Tesla dealership and use the name-brand Tesla parts,” said Holtby.
Holtby said there are no technical barriers to electric vehicle companies releasing this information and no inherent reason for electric vehicles to be more expensive to repair than other automobiles.
Parliament passed two bills in 2024 altering Canada’s Copyright Act to allow independent repair and servicing businesses to break digital locks that restrict access to operational data.
Holtby said these measures were a good start but don’t place an onus on manufacturers to share this data or specify penalties for non-compliance.
Alissa Centivany, a professor of technological policy at Western University and right-to-repair advocate , said that increased trade tensions with the U.S. and other major partners could give manufacturers cover to hide behind security and intellectual property concerns.
“The two right-to-repair bills we passed in late 2024 ended up going through right before (the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement) returned to the forefront of the discussion, and I think policymakers got paralyzed around doing anything that could further jeopardize the flow of U.S. technologies into Canada,” said Centivany.
Centivany said the gradual opening of the Canadian market to Chinese-made electric vehicles, recently announced as part of a bilateral tariff reduction , could muddy the waters even further.
“The technology (around Chinese electric vehicles) is just different and there’s a lot of speculation right now in terms of how repairs will even work … Will we have Chinese manufacturers make an investment in setting up their own repair shops in Canada? We honestly don’t know right now,” said Centivany.
An inquiry to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada about forthcoming right-to-repair measures wasn’t returned by deadline.
National Post
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