Fine. Thank you.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
My name is Paul Hyatt. I'm president of Superior Tire and Auto in Toronto, and I'm also president of the international Tire Industry Association. I'm here tonight on behalf of the consumers of Canada.
Some vehicle manufacturers are restricting access to tools, training, and software to the automotive aftermarket industry. The increased sophistication of today's vehicles makes access to this information extremely imperative. The decision to restrict this information to independent repair facilities prevents them from repairing late-model cars effectively, eliminating consumers' choice.
The vehicle manufacturers' unwillingness to provide all necessary information to the aftermarket industry will lead to a dealership monopoly on the vehicle service and repair industry, a reduction or elimination of independent repair businesses, and ultimately a taking away of consumers' right of choice. The inability of the aftermarket to maintain and repair vehicles will eventually result in a significant dealership monopoly, with eventual evaporation of consumer choice.
I'll give you some facts to consider. The existing dealer network does not have the bay capacity to service the cars on today's roads. Controlled auto repair by a monopoly will impact over 225,000 people employed in the aftermarket industry. Consumers will be at risk of paying higher prices in a non-competitive market, with many repairs delayed or ignored altogether, putting highway safety at risk. Consumers will be inconvenienced by increased travel time, higher waiting times, towing fees, and possible stranded vehicles. Consumers will suffer from repair delays with insufficient bay space within the dealer network.
The right to repair has little to do with parts assembly and loss of jobs in the OEM industry. Fewer choices and higher costs will increase and lead to higher vehicle emissions, being controlled now by over 30 different codes within the car, into the atmosphere, where gains have already been accomplished with regular maintenance and service. The aftermarket is primarily composed of small- and medium-sized businesses, making up over 30,000 independent repair facilities in Canada. Unemployment will cause a huge ripple, obviously across the country.
Some OEM information is obtainable through different venues--the Internet, which is limited, slow, and consumer costly; OEM sites, which are very costly, and Canadian access is denied by some OEMs; OEM-specific diagnostic tools, which are prohibitively expensive, if available; and the on-board diagnostics computer, or the OBD II, controlling hundreds of codes and diagnostics software, which may not be available to highly skilled independent technicians.
Repair shops are not asking for proprietary information, just the ability to service the consumers' cars. Repair shops are not asking for a free ride. They're willing to pay a reasonable amount for access to these codes. Oddly enough, all the OEM dealerships will require access to repair information themselves to repair other makes of vehicles when they're brought to their dealerships.
In 2008 all cars will be fitted with a tire pressure monitoring device--one of which I have in my hand--that uses tiny transmitters to inform the dashboard of tire pressures. This little device is just the tip of the iceberg when we discuss the subject of the right to repair. A flat tire, rotation, new wheels, winter tire installations: those are just a few of the problems that will cause the vehicle's dash warning light to flash permanently unless your technician can reset the system with proper codes, training, and tools.
I will also add that, from my experience, many car dealerships have little training themselves with these TPM systems. Consumers are now paying anywhere from $60 to $300 for each new valve sensor.
Unfortunately, the majority of the vehicle manufacturers in Canada are unwilling to negotiate an industry-led solution and have little impetus to do so. They continually design vehicles that only they can service, leaving the consumer with no choice of facility.
This is an issue that is clearly national in scope, as it has implications for every constituency in Canada. I strongly believe the Government of Canada should investigate a legislative or regulatory solution that would allow the independent automotive aftermarket to better service the consumer with access to all diagnostic and service data that's required, with tools and training for the repair and service of late-model vehicles, to restore the balance at Canadian repair facilities and protect consumers' choice.
There's nothing wrong with taking your car to a dealership. They provide good service and they have trained technicians. But if you go to a dealership for repairs, it should be because you want to, not because you have to.
Lastly, Canada was built on choice; it was founded on choice. We mustn't allow that to be taken away under the guise of protectionism and a controlled auto repair monopoly.
Thank you. I have notes for everyone. As soon as they're translated, you'll all get them. I didn't really have time to get it done, and I apologize.