Why calls for 'right-to-repair' rules are revving up again for vehicles in Canada

It's nearly closing time at AutoNiche in Markham, Ont., but technicians are still hard at work on arepair forthe owner of asmall sedan.

Like a lot of auto repair shops, there are tire-changing machines, compressors and an alignment rack. A sign of the times,owner Emily Chung alsoadded acharging station for plug-invehicles.

Looking into that same future, Chung says she sees the need for something else: legislationthat ensuresbusinesses like herscan keep doing those repairs well down the road.

While most Canadians can get their vehiclefixed whereverthey want these days, she worries that independent shops couldbe left behind by new cars linkedwirelessly to manufacturers capable oflimiting accessto data that helps technicians diagnose and fix a problem.

"If we don't have access to the information, then it makes it more difficult for us to be able to solve their [the customer's] problem," said Chung, who is concerned about the long-term viabilityof shops like hers.

"This is something that really needs tobe addressed."

Canadian politicianscan expect to hear similar arguments in the months ahead as the discussion about "right-to-repair" legislation appearsset to gather steam in Ottawa.

Right-to-repair issues aren't new, but they've gained prominence as more of the products people buy from smartphones to dishwashers to farm equipment become increasingly sophisticated and integrated with computers.

It's something lawmakers around the world are grappling with as they weigh consumers' expectations and manufacturers' warnings of the impact on their businesses, as well as people'ssafety and privacy.

The push for legislation

With MPs expected to return to theHouse of Commons this fall, some advocates for the automotive aftermarket are poised to again push for laws they say are important forconsumers and independent repair shops.

It could setup a debate over whether an 11-year-old agreement struck with Canadian automakersa commitment to voluntarily share service and repair information with the aftermarket industry still works as intended in a new era of connected smart vehicles.

When the Canadian Automotive Service Information Standard, or CASIS, launched in 2010, it was responding toindependent garage ownerswho were concerned that they sometimes had to send clients to dealers because they lacked information needed to fixvehicles, such ascomputer codes for small sensorsor training to make certain repairs.

Under CASIS, manufacturers who signed on agreed to share service and repair information with the aftermarket sector on a level equivalent to that of authorized dealers.

"That opened up the access to tools, training and service information from manufacturers to the aftermarket industry, and with that, it was great," said Matt Carpenter, an automotive instructor at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in Calgary.

Carpenter said manufacturers charge"a reasonable amount" of money for access to this information, however, leading a lot of aftermarket shops to focus on two or three brands rather than having a blanket ability to repair all vehicles.

A decade of change

When CASIS was introduced, it received broad support from groups representing the country's manufacturers, as well as the aftermarket sector. Groups representing Canadian manufacturers believe it continues to work well.

But the last decade has seen some big changes.

Connected vehicleshave become more like rolling computers, usingtelematics technology which is capable ofsharingdata directly with manufacturers and helpingto improve such things asperformance and safety.

Accordingto a national aftermarket industry association, these advancements mean some of the information that independent repair shops have traditionally relied on finding in the vehicles might now be hosted distantly on manufacturers' servers.

"Up until not that long ago, really, the repairer had direct access to the vehicle and all of the onboard information,"said Jean-Franois Champagne, president of the Automotive Industries Association of Canada (AIA),which representscompanies that make, distribute and install automotive replacement parts, accessories, toolsand equipment.

"Nowadays, this information is no longer in the vehicle but hosted into the manufacturer's servers, and that information is critical for an aftermarket shop to be able to fix a car."

Champagne points to luxury automakers as some of the most challenging to get access from, but he'sconcerned aboutthe problem creeping into other brands as well if left unchecked. He saysright-to-repair legislation is needed andthe AIA will renew its calls for that this fall.

"We're going to continue to be very active in front of government," he said.

Election call ended proposed legislation

In Ottawa, a pair of bills closely followed by the right-to-repair movement were working their way through Parliament but met a dead end with the federal election call.

Bill C-11, the Digital Charter Implementation Act, proposed to give Canadians greater control over their online dataand levied heavy penalties for companies that breach privacy.

Separately, a private member's bill aimed to create a limited allowance for consumers to bypass digital locks without violating the Copyright Act but only for diagnosis, maintenance or repair.

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Canada Tonight guest host Arti Pole speaks with Alice Henry from Share Reuse Repair Initiative in Vancouver about why consumers should have more ability to repair and alter the products they buy without going through the manufacturer.

Time will tell what will be resurrected in the next session of Parliament.

Earlier this year, Australia passed legislationthat says automakers must supply information to certified repair shops.

Massachusetts citizensvoted last fallfor a law requiring automakers to install a standardized platform on cars with telematic technology, giving independent garages access to the wireless mechanical data that's key to makingsome repairs.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents most U.S. automakers, is suing the stateand arguing that the new law drives up manufacturers' costs and endangers car owners' privacy throughdata on their vehicles.

The industry in Canada also sees issueswith theMassachusetts legislation.

"When you see those types of [legislation]that are trying to open up, for example, privacy issues, it has to be considered in the context of the existing protections that are there for Canadians not just for safety reasons, but for environmental and privacy reasons," said Brian Kingston, president and CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association.

Still a 'goodmodel'

Kingston said CASIS isco-operative and voluntary, and it continues togiveconsumers the ability to choose where they want to repair their vehicle.

"We actually think it's a good model and something that other industries can look at as they contemplate things like right-to-repair legislation," said Kingston, whose group represents Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.

"CASIS operates a site that directs independent repair shops to guides on how to repair, and all of the tools and the training that's required to make repairs. And those are constantly updated," he said.

Dealerships are sure to be watching developments.

Lawrence Romanosky, who managed luxury car dealerships for two decades in Calgary, said roughly 30 per cent of income at a dealership comes in from the service department.

"To get a dealer franchise, the manufacturer insists on the dealer spending anywhere from $10 million or $20 million for the facility," he said.

"When the manufacturer has the data for all of the cars in the field and the millions of kilometres that are put on them there's regular updates and improvements that are made at the dealer level.

"It wouldn't be practical, I don't think, for the manufacturer to make that open to everybody."

David Adams, president and CEO of the Global Automakers of Canada, which represents the likes of Honda and Toyota, said CASIS has worked well and believesissues can be addressed through ongoing discussion.

"Ten years is a long time, so there's been a lot of evolution in the vehicle since then," he said.

"Let's start and have a chat and figure out again whether CASIS is a tool that can be sort of expanded, I guess, to envelop telematics, so we don't have to deal with this through legislative or regulatory initiative."

Back at her garage in Markham, Chung said the reality isthere's nothing to forcemanufacturers to release any kind of information. It's not a situation that affects her business day-to-dayright now, but she believes now is the time to get to work on legislation.

"What we're trying to do is make sure that the law ischanged so that when we get to that point in time ... we're not stuck with this limited choice forour consumers," Chung said.