Thank you.
Good afternoon. Thank you for inviting the Associated Equipment Distributors to present on Bill C-244. It is an honour to appear before you today as AED's immediate past chair and as vice-president of operations at Vermeer Canada.
AED is an international trade association representing companies that sell, rent, service and manufacture construction, farm, mining, energy, forestry and industrial equipment and related supplies. AED's Canadian members account for more than $8.7 billion in annual sales and services and employ over 27,000 workers at 400 locations across the country.
“Right to repair” is a simple slogan. However, the policy proposals surrounding the issue are complex, with significant consequences.
At the outset, I want to make it clear that AED members support customers' right to repair their machinery and the right of distributors to make available diagnostic tools, repair information, parts and remote customer support. Idle, non-functioning equipment equals lost time and money. Whether it's on a farm during harvest or on a road-building project, there is absolutely zero incentive to not do everything we can as equipment dealers and manufacturers to keep the machine running. That can mean repairs completed by a dealership service technician, the customer or a third party provider. The equipment industry is highly competitive. If Vermeer Canada isn't providing proper and timely service, nothing is stopping the customer from moving to one of my many competitors and their products.
However, we don't support unfettered access to critical on-board software and information pertaining to environmental and safety protections or key operational functions, which is what Bill C-244 would ultimately do. While customers can complete most repairs to their machinery, environmental and safety functions, as well as technological developments that have made equipment more efficient and productive, necessitate restrictions in access to source code and software that ensure that key operational functions aren't modified or disabled.
Manufacturers of equipment rely on a network of independent small and medium-sized companies, many of which are family-owned, to sell, rent and service the equipment. These dealers make significant investments in their employees, including training service technicians to repair and maintain the latest high-technology machinery. Many AED members' facilities are located in rural and underserved areas, creating well-paying jobs and economic opportunities.
The equipment industry has invested significant time and resources to mitigate environmental harm, resulting in a substantial reduction in emissions. Of great concern is that Bill C-244 threatens important environmental gains, as it would permit unfettered access to embedded software to circumvent emissions protections.
Similarly, modern equipment has numerous safety features to protect both equipment operators and the public, the latter oftentimes driving or walking past construction sites and other areas while machinery is in use. Granting access to override safety features, as Bill C-244 would do, poses undue risk for operators and bystanders.
Additionally, equipment dealers invest countless resources to train certified technicians to work on complex machinery. By this mandating of access to embedded source code, unqualified individuals will attempt to repair the world's most advanced and sophisticated equipment at significant risk to themselves, operators and the public.
The aforementioned raises this question: Why would someone want to circumvent emissions or safety protections? The answer is simple: It's for machine performance. Limits on horsepower and other functions that the machine might be able to carry out are necessary to ensure that the equipment is environmentally friendly and safe. A simple Google search yields a plethora of vendors offering products and services to assist equipment owners to modify their machines. Requiring access to source code and embedded software will only proliferate this practice, with significant negative ramifications for the environment and safety.
Proponents of Bill C-244 tout the environmental benefits, because customers won't need to discard products as readily if they are able to fix products themselves. However, heavy equipment is among the most durable manufactured products commercially available. Equipment will oftentimes be sold to a customer, traded in when the customer purchases a new machine and subsequently either resold or rented. Improper maintenance or modifications related to granting unfettered access to source code jeopardize a machine's operation and longevity, which may cause negative environmental and safety impacts and shorten its productive life.
Simply put, for the equipment industry, the right-to-repair proposals are a solution in search of a problem. AED members provide customers and third party repair providers with parts, tools and other resources to complete the overwhelming majority of equipment repairs. It's bad business not to do so. Out-of-service equipment isn't merely an inconvenience; it can ruin a farmer's harvest or delay completion of a bridge or roadway.
Thank you again for the honour of appearing before you today. I look forward to answering any questions you may have.