LEADING THE WAY A MEERY MINUTE

A new bill tabled in Québec in June aims to amend the Consumer Protection Act to protect consumers from planned obsolescence and promote the durability, repairability and maintenance for goods in the province.

If passed, Québec would be the first Canadian province—and one of few regions in North America— protecting the consumer right to choose where their vehicle is repaired.

Québec Minister of Justice Simon Jolin-Barrette proposed Bill 29, which will “enshrine the increasingly threatened right of Québecers to have their vehicles services and repaired by the shop or garage of their choice,” while simultaneously positioning the province as a leader in the Right to Repair movement.

In response to the tabling of Bill 29, AIA Canada president J.F. Champagne said, “Québec will be a winner on all fronts: in addition to effectively fighting planned obsolescence and encouraging the repair of the automotive properly, it will ensure a plurality of services and freedom of choice for Québec consumers as well as the promotion of healthy competition and competitive prices in the auto repair market.

“It will also enable approximately 90,900 employees who work in the industry to lend their skills to the electrification of transport,” he said.

REGIONAL NEWS | ALTANTIC

In a show of appreciation for years of dedication, CARSTAR congratulated its Atlantic Canada zone director, Dave Meery, on his twentieth anniversary with the company in June.

For the past two decades, Meery has been at the helm of a market that has grown from three collision centres to 34 locations, with CARSTAR attesting that “his two decades of expertise and support of CARSTAR Canada have truly been invaluable,” according to the company’s post on LinkedIn.

Coming Soon

Tesla signed a lease on a 60,000 sq.-ft. building in Dartmouth in March, prompting expectations that the OEM will build its first Atlantic Canadian service centre in the city just outside Halifax.

All Nova Scotia first reported the news, and a representative for real estate firm Avison Young confirmed that Tesla will be occupying the building at 236 Brownlow Avenue.

If the facility occupies the full 60,739 sq. ft. suggested in the lease listing, it would measure up to the Tesla showroom under development in Hamilton, Ontario, which is set to ring in at 60,000 sq. ft.

The building requires extensive renovations but, when complete, will feature a showroom, service area and office space for employees. Tesla currently services vehicles through mobile service offerings and through a lease of three service bays at Tesla-certified collision centre Chapman Autobody. There are about 850 Teslas on Nova Scotian roads, Drive Tesla Canada estimates.