Québec City, Québec — A new bill tabled in Québec on Thursday aims to amend the Consumer Protection Act to protect consumers from planned obsolescence and promote the durability, repairability and maintenance for goods in the province.
If passed, Québec would be the first Canadian province—and one of few regions in North America—protecting the consumer right to choose where their vehicle is repaired.
Québec Minister of Justice Simon Jolin-Barrette proposed Bill 29, which will “enshrine the increasingly threatened right of Québecers to have their vehicles services and repaired by the shop or garage of their choice,” while simultaneously positioning the province as a leader in the Right to Repair movement.
In response to the tabling of Bill 29, AIA Canada president J.F. Champagne said, “Québec will be a winner on all fronts: in addition to effectively fighting planned obsolescence and encouraging the repair of the automotive properly, it will ensure a plurality of services and freedom of choice for Québec consumers as well as the promotion of healthy competition and competitive prices in the auto repair market.
“It will also enable approximately 90,900 employees who work in the industry to lend their skills to the electrification of transport,” he said.
In the coming weeks, AIA Canada said it plans to use its extensive auto repair expertise at the service of Canadian parliamentarians to suggest possible improvements to the legislation, wrote the organization in a Thursday morning release.
“In particular, we’ll be looking at the application of this bill to prevent any loopholes in the now-recognized principle of the right to repair. This will allow the province of Québec to truly pave the way for other Canadian provinces and the federal government to act,” said Champagne.
