NEWS | NOUVELLES
Joining the team In January, RePowered Batteries joined the Ontario Automotive Recyclers Association as an Associate Member. Headquartered in Gatineau, Quebec, RePowered takes electric vehicle batteries and repurposes them for future use in everything from solar power storage systems to grocery store grids. “RePowered Batteries take batteries from end-of-life electric vehicles and dismantle them to build new batteries for micro-grid systems. Like a big backup battery,” said Julien Lemay, CEO of RePowered Batteries. “The goal is to give batteries a second life—to extend the life of electric vehicle batteries, reduce the reliance on new material and also delay their recycling so that methods have improved by the time they get to recycling and metal extraction.” Last year, RePowered Batteries set up its pilot plant. “We see immense value in being properly connected to Canada’s auto recyclers,” said Lemay. “They are an integral part of our value chain. Joining OARA as a member makes perfect sense for us.” Lemay is also the founder of the Canadian Second Life Battery Assocation, an organization advocating as a unified voice for second-life battery manufacturers. You can learn more about the organization by visiting cslba.ca.
Julien Lemay, CEO of Repowered Batteries.
Scrap in Saskatchewan The government of Saskatchewan has introduced legislation with the aim of tightening up regulations surrounding scrap metal theft in the province. The legislation includes an update to the Pawned Property Amendment Act and the requirements for reporting for scrap metal dealers. The changes would require that dealers obtain and record the identification and transaction information of the client from whom they are purchasing scrap metal, as well as the imposition of further restrictions on cash transactions in the attempt to curb the anonymous sale of stolen scrap metal. Theft of scrap metal, copper wiring and automotive parts has been on the rise nationwide over the last several years. However, the isolation of many rural residences in Saskatchewan makes the province an even more appealing home base for would-be thieves. As well, changes to the Traffic Safety Act will give police the ability to press charges for numerous actions commonly associated with auto theft, such as falsifying documents for the sale or registration of a vehicle or altering a VIN. Currently, police have to investigate and charge someone under the Criminal Code. The proposed changes will give police the ability to issue a summary offence ticket without requiring Criminal Code proceedings.
The government of Saskatchewan has introduced legislation with the aim of tightening up regulations surrounding scrap metal theft in the province.
Data Drive The Automotive Industries Association of Canada (AIA Canada) is urging collision repairers to take action in the fight for access to vehicle data. During a January Your Data. Your Choice webinar session, J.F. Champagne, AIA Canada president and Bill Hanvey, CEO of the U.S.based Auto Care Association, delved into details of the campaign and provided an update on its progress as collision repairers across North America fight for access to vehicle data. “Of course, we all like the convenience technology brings, but 85 percent of vehicle owners are unaware the vehicles transmit data and that access to that data is being threatened,” said Hanvey. Within the next two years, AIA Canada predicts up to 95 percent of all new cars sold in Canada will be connected cars—vehicles that are constantly communicating information in real time to automak-ers. According to Hanvey, automakers in the U.S. have spent US$30 million defending OEM control of data in the courts. “Unless automakers are forced by regulations, they aren’t going to release that control,” said Champagne. “We’ve tried—and quite honestly, we haven’t been taken seriously. The only way to rectify this is through legislation,” said Hanvey. “We need the petition signatures to say, ‘look, the consumers have spoken’ with 100,000 signatures in Canada and 150,000 in the U.S.”
Automaker resistance is nothing new to the collision repair industry. While the sector has been reliant on on-board diagnostics for repairs since the 1980s, there was a time the automaker fought for repairer access to these systems. “We need to fix cars right. Access to the right information in an or-derly fashion is no question—the access to vehicle data absolutely ties into the quality of collision repair,” said Champagne. Currently, the same OEM restrictions that prevent collision repair facilities from accessing data from vehicles also prevents auto recyclers from gaining access to information which would make it far more prof-itable to dismantle connected vehicles.
J.F. Champagne, AIA Canada president.
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CANADIAN AUTO RECYCLER 2021
