Friday, April 18, 2008

Transport Canada Not Responsible For Auto Manufacturers Importing Policies

Manufacturers Ultimately Determine Whether Vehicles Comply And How The Vehicles May Be Modified Should They Not Comply

Submitted by : Mr. Jeff Newton - BMW Importer

Below is the response received from the Office of Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities to Mr. Newton's inquiry:


Dear Mr. Newton:

Your Member of Parliament, Mr. James Moore, has forwarded to the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, a copy of your e-mail of February 15, 2008, regarding the importation of vehicles from the United States. Minister Cannon has asked me to reply on his behalf.

By way of background, I should first mention that the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (MVSA), in effect since 1971, regulates the manufacture and importation of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment to reduce the risk of death and injury, and damage to property and the environment.

The MVSA requires that all vehicles imported into Canada comply with the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations and associated Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSSs). However, subsection 7(2) of the MVSA provides an exception whereby vehicles purchased in the United States that are not in full compliance with the CMVSSs, may be imported into Canada, provided the vehicles were originally manufactured to comply with all applicable U.S. Federal Safety Standards, and provided they can be modified to comply with the CMVSSs. In addition, once modified, the vehicles must be inspected by a designated authority of Transport Canada. In this regard, in 1995, Transport Canada contracted with a private company to establish the Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV) program to develop and operate a system of inspection and certification of vehicles imported from the United States.

As a convenience to both importers and manufacturers, the RIV posts a List of Vehicles Admissible from the United States on its website at www.riv.ca . The list includes many 2008 model-year vehicles that are admissible for importation. It is the manufacturers' responsibility to certify that vehicles comply with Canadian safety standards or to certify that the vehicles can be modified to meet these standards. The manufacturers are also responsible for providing and updating the admissibility information. I should emphasize that the list is not mandated by law; rather, it is an administrative tool meant to assist in the processing of imported vehicles. Although manufacturers are not obligated to submit admissibility information, most do so voluntarily, since otherwise, they would have to deal with importers on an individual basis.
Because the information provided by manufacturers varies periodically, prospective Canadian importers must exercise caution and inform themselves thoroughly on all aspects of purchasing a vehicle in the United States, including warranty coverage, before purchasing a U.S. vehicle. Any inquiries about the accuracy of the information the List contains must therefore be addressed to the manufacturers directly.

For a variety of reasons, some manufacturers are reluctant to provide vehicle admissibility information to importers, the RIV and Transport Canada. In addition, some manufacturers are charging a fee to importers who ask for a letter specifying that there are no outstanding recalls on the vehicle they wish to import. Transport Canada has no authority to dictate to those manufacturers when and how this information ought to be supplied, or to request that they provide the recall information free-of-charge, since the manufacturers are normally located in the United States, and the vehicles in question are initially produced for the U.S. market.

I should note that neither Transport Canada nor the RIV has access to the recall information of manufacturers that produce vehicles for the U.S. market. The information in the department's database relates only to vehicles produced for the Canadian market and originally sold in Canada. In many instances, the Canadian company and the U.S. company are two separate entities and do not share recall information. Therefore, it is important to firmly establish, in a reliable manner, that there are no outstanding recalls on vehicles purchased at the retail level in the United States and imported into Canada. The verification is specific to each particular vehicle and is performed by manufacturers using the Vehicle Identification Number.

There have been comments that some companies have refused to honour their U.S. warranties in Canada, have instructed their U.S.-based dealers not to sell to Canadian customers, or have delayed-or not responded at all-in providing a determination regarding the admissibility of their U.S. vehicles after September 2007. There have also been comments on price differences and what are alleged to be captive markets. I must emphasize that the MVSA does not mandate or regulate warranties, nor does it deal with the pricing of vehicles by manufacturers and importers. All of these issues pertain to company-specific policies, and these companies must be contacted directly to obtain additional details and clarifications.
In some cases, manufacturers are insisting that the modifications necessary to activate or install daytime running lights be performed by their authorized dealers and, in some cases, are also insisting that the instrument cluster be changed. The MVSA only requires that the importer ensure that the vehicle is made compliant with the applicable safety standards and is not specific as to who must do the work. However, the basic principle of compliance under the MVSA is a regime of self-certification whereby the manufacturer ultimately determines whether its vehicles comply with the CMVSSs and how the vehicles may be modified should they not comply.

A manufacturer can determine that various components must be replaced, and that such work can only be done by a qualified authorized dealer in order to ensure compliance, and Transport Canada is not in a position to challenge such a policy. The cost associated with such modifications is also beyond the control of Transport Canada. Concerns regarding such costs would be best addressed to Industry Canada's Office of Consumers Affairs or to the appropriate provincial/territorial Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

I trust that the foregoing has clarified the Minister's position with respect to this matter. Thank you for writing.

Yours truly,



Andrew Walasek
Special Assistant - Ontario and Western Canada


c.c. Office of Mr. James Moore, M.P.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ladies and Gentleman of the jury I bring before you the comments of one Andrew Walasek the "Special Assistant" of Canada. Let the record show that Mr. Walasek is not an evil man or even a greedy man but his comments have been so elegantly crafted you would think they could be on display in a museum or place of other artistic genius. His comments are directed towards one Jeff Newton, who like myself took on the mind bottling task of importing a BMW from the foriegn and distant land of the United States of America. A place where cars drive people and they run in stead of walking and the roads are made of chocolate. Certainly y marshmallow tires and robotic autopilot cluster had to be replaced in order to comply with our newfangled ashphalt and manual drive capabilities. Of course the MVSA enacted in 1971 has taken into consideration the front and side airbags, superior handling, five star crash ratings, large disk brakes that can stop on a dime as well as countless other safety features that were around back in the seventies. Certainly there is nothing even remotely artificial about the way all those necessary modifications have to be made before I can drive my led gas guzzling M3 in Canda. Thank you BMW Canada for looking out for my safety, Seriously.

Anonymous said...

in the assissanants last paragraph he indicated that the manufacturers is best to determine what modifications are required. when they threw my volvo off the ship in new jersey back in 2004, the day before the same factory put together the 2004 volvo they threw off the ship in Montreal. its the same car except the us volvo has miles per hour the canadian one has kilometers per hour. there was absolutely no modifications required. no where in the legislation does he mention (in paragraph two) that a compliance letter from the OEM is required to import and meet canadian standards. only a letter of admissibility. RIV has authorized canadian tire to make sure what ever your new ride is and will be safe for the cdn roads as long as it passes all the requirements.

there are very few cars that require "modifications that are extensive. the worst one i have heard of is volvo bumpers on the s40 have to refitted. and some cars and trucks need daytime running lights installed (a new switch)

Anonymous said...

I received virtually the same letter today re my Feb 27th letter to the minister.