Letter to the CCMTA - Clarification Requested

April 25, 2007

Mr. Shaun Hammond, President
Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators
2323 St. Laurent Blvd.
Ottawa, ON K1G4J8

Dear Mr. Hammond,

According to recent communications we have received, the CCMTA has taken an official position to recomnend changes to the 15-year rule exempting imported vehicles from complying with the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. As associate members, we are anxious to learn a bit more about how the CCMTA arrived at this position, and how it views it’s position in
relation to other regulations in the future. For example:

1. Can you please illuminate the process by which the CCMTA came to adopt it’s position on the 15 year rule? For example, who introduced this issue to the CCMTA? Did the CCMTA undertake a study of it’s own to understand the implications of changes to the rule? Was a committee tasked with researching the issue and recommending a position to the board? If so, was there a vote
held, and how did the various members vote?

2. According the Transport Canada, the CCMTA feels that it is important for Canada to harmonize it’s rules with the USA, and this is a reason why Canada should change from a 15-year to a 25-year rule regarding import expemtions. Can you please tell us why Transport Canada is saying these things about the CCMTA? Is the pursuit of regulatory harmonization with the US an officially adopted position of the CCMTA? If so, can you illuminate us associate members on why this is a good policy for Canadians?

3. Apparently the CCMTA is sufficiently concerned with vehicle safety that it proposes the 15-year rule be replaced with a 25 year rule. Can you please explain the mechanics behind the presumed increase in safety to be realized from increasing the age of exemption? Again, if you have any studies to backup the position that 25 year old vehicles are safer, our conulting engineers would be fascinated to review them.

4. Can you clarify if the recommendation to amend the existing 15-year rule would apply to all vehicles imported into Canada, or just vehicles from certain countries?

5. Finally, if harmonization with the US is a goal with perceived benefits, may we assume that the CCMTA is equally in favor of harmonizing all the motor vechicle regulations? If not, which regulations would the CCMTA favor keeping distinct from those written in the USA, and why?

Thank your for taking time to address these very topical and important issues.

Sincerely,

Dale Leier
A/National Secretary
Canadian Association of Vehicle Importers
909 Matticks Wood Lane
Victoria, BC V8Y 3H6
T: (888) 999-1801
F: (866) 625-8743
www.cavi.ca

The CCMTA Makes It’s Position Clear (even if it gets its facts wrong)

December 18,2006

Mr. Marc Gregoire
Assistant Deputy Minister
Safety & Security, Safety & Security Group
Transport Canada
330 Sparks Street
Place de Ville, Tower C, 12th Floor
Ottawa ON K1AON5

Dear Mr. Gregoire:

Re: Transport Canada 15 Year Rule and Non-U.S. Imported Vehicles

On behalf of the CCMTA Board of Directors, I am writing to express our concerns about the escalating risk to Canadian road users arising from increasing requests received by Canadian jurisdictions to register and licence imported vehicles that are over 15 years old for on road use.

The vehicles in question, which were manufactured exclusively for the Asian market, include right hand drive passenger cars, right hand drive light commercial vehicles and motorcycles. As increasing numbers of these vehicles are operating on Canadian highways, there is an increased risk to the safety of Canadian motorists who may be operating these vehicles, or other motorists sharing our highways. The safety concerns shared by CCMTA member jurisdictions include the following:

Right hand drive vehicle issues:

· The driver has limited visibility when leaving a parked position and entering the roadway, as well as when passing another vehicle because we drive/park on the right and pass on the left in North America. These vehicles also present safety concerns when making left hand turns due to restricted visibility.

· Because of the right hand drive, the headlamps are not properly aimed for the North American roadway. They have the potential to “blind” oncoming drivers.

General issues with 15-year-old vehicles:

· Most, if not all, of these vehicles do not meet crash worthiness standards as per Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS).

· Occupant restraint systems and seat belt anchor systems are different in other countries and may not be compliant with CMVSS; e.g. no 3-point seat belt in the rear outboard positions.

· Bumpers and bumper assemblies may not meet CMVSS crash thresholds.

· Tires on these vehicles may not meet Canadian standards. While they may be replaced, the removed tires will add to the Canadian pile of unwanted rubber.

· Windshield and other vehicle safety glazing may not conform to CMVSS.

· Lamps, lenses, bulbs and reflex reflectors may not meet CMVSS as well as SAE or DOT standards and are not marked as required.

· Front and rear side marker lamps and reflex reflectors are missing.

· Catalytic converters and neutral switches are missing.

· Daytime running lamps are missing.

· High mounted stop lamps are missing.

· In the near future there will be some additional issues related to the recent addition to CMVSS: anti-theft immobilizers, brake-shift interlock, clutch-shift interlock, child seat anchorage, etc.

Additional issues relate to jurisdictions’ Graduated Driver Licensing programs, in that due to their distinctive styling, with lower cost and increased fuel efficiency, these vehicles may appeal to newer drivers at the learner’s stage. If these drivers accumulate their initial driving experience on right hand drive vehicles or vehicles with unknown safety features, there is potential for increased accident rates when they switch to Canadian specification vehicles at a later time. Also, there are driver testing issues for road tests conducted on right hand drive vehicles.

Therefore, CCMTA is requesting Transport Canada to change its current position with respect to not regulating vehicles that are 15 years old and older and suggest that, as in the U.S., vehicles 25 years or older would be a more appropriate criterion. This change would also result in these imported vehicles being required to meet federally mandated, uniform vehicle safety standards that can be applied consistently across our member jurisdictions as well as harmonization with the U.S. vehicle age thresholds for their federal safety requirements.

Yours truly,

Shaun Hammond,
President

Meanwhile, Transport Canada Couldn’t Agree More

January 26, 2007

Mr. Shaun Hammond
President
Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators
2323 St. Laurent Blvd.
Ottawa, ON K1G4J8

Dear Mr. Hammond:

Subject: Transport Canada 15-Year Rule and Non-U.S. Imported Vehicles

This is in reply to your letter of December 18, 2006, in which you expressed the concerns of the CCMTA Board of Directors about the escalating risk to Canadian road users arising from the increasing requests received by Canadian jurisdictions to register imported vehicles that are over 15 years old for on-road use. Your letter is also requesting Transport Canada to change its current position with respect to not regulating vehicles 15 years and older and is suggesting that we adopt the same 25-year age limit as in the U.S.

I am pleased to inform you that work is already underway to examine the impact that vehicles 15 years old and older have on road safety in Canada. The results of the analysis seem to indicate that a 25-year limit might indeed be appropriate. We anticipate being able to publish a notice proposing to make the appropriate amendment to the current rule in Part I of the Canada Gazette in the second quarter of 2007.

I should mention that the results of our study on 15 years old and older vehicles suggest that problems associated with aging vehicles are not limited to those being imported into Canada, whether from the U.S. or elsewhere. Given the shared responsibility for road safety between the provinces, territories and Transport Canada, I would urge the jurisdictions across Canada to also consider appropriate measures to deal with aging in-use vehicles, such as at the initial licensing stage or at license renewal. Similarly, the jurisdictions may wish to consider appropriate measures to discourage right-hand drive vehicles, at the licensing stage, regardless of age, if such vehicles pose a safety risk in the respective jurisdictions.

Should you require further information or clarification, please do not hesitate to contact Kash Ram, Director General, Road Safety and Motor Vehicle Regulation Directorate at (613) 993-6735.

Yours Sincerely,

Marc Gregoire
Assistant Deputy Minister
Safety and Security
Transport Canada

Email from Transport Canada Spokesman

Dear Mr. Leier,

As mentioned by Mr. Claude Roy (Director, Motor Vehicle Safety and Enforcement, Transport Canada), consultations are part of the rulemaking process in the Federal government. The government has consulted with the CCMTA, which represents the provinces, territories and Federal Government.

Transport Canada is now preparing documentation to change the 15 year rule to 25 years, which will be submitted for ministerial approval. The anticipated timeframe for submission of the documentation to the minister’s office is spring 2007. Once the minister signs off on the proposal, the proposed amendment will be sent to Treasury Board for review and Privy Council for approval. Subsequently, publication of the draft amendment will appear in the Canada Gazette Part 1, and a 75 day comment period will be given so that the public can provide comments. Information on how to submit comments will be included in the publication. Comments would then be addressed prior to passing any legislation and publishing in the Canada Gazette Part 11. Publishing in the Canada Gazette Part 1 is anticipated this year, and could also be as early as the spring.

In regards to the 15 year rule, it was originally implemented to allow an exemption for the importation of collectible vehicles for hobby and occasional use. At that time, as most of the vehicles 15 years old and older being imported were typically collectors items, 15 years was considered to be an acceptable age limit for exemption. As the number of 15 year old vehicles being imported for every day use has increased, the government along with the CCMTA no longer consider 15 years to be adequate.

I hope this helps. If you have any further questions, they can be forwarded directly to me.

Regards,

Matt Coons, P.Eng.,

Standards and Regulations Division

Letter to the Minister

February 11, 2007

The Hon. Lawrence Cannon
Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6

Dear Hon. Cannon:
Re: Changes to the 15-Year Rule
It has come to our attention that, as a result of recommendations from the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA), Transport Canada is preparing to revise regulations currently exempting imported vehicles15 years and older from complying with the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

At first glance it may appear that the proposed change, which is to increase the age of vehicles exempted to 25 years, can only serve to increase highway safety. However, our organization believes that there is a danger that these changes, if implemented, may actually achieve the opposite of their intended results. Furthermore, we believe that these changes unnecessarily and unreasonably deprive Canadian motorists of valuable transportation choices at a time when concerns over fuel economy and the environment are at an all time high.

For your reference, New Zealand has faced similar challenges recently with balancing the concerns of both regulators and the public. However, rather than blanketing the entire field with a rigid and overly restrictive embargo on imported vehicles, they used the opportunity to review the situation and delivered an intelligent domestic solution for meeting the needs of the greatest number of stakeholders. In fact, the New Zealand experience has shown that in some cases it has been beneficial to the public good to actually reduce the age of vehicles permitted entry. By allowing the entry of vehicles that are as young as 8 years of age, better and more efficient vehicles are being imported and replacing older, less efficient vehicles.

While we understand that is may be in the interest of administrators to implement simplistic and restrictive policies, there are undoubtedly better solutions that protect the safety concerns of the general public while preserving the rights of Canadians to make intelligent choices in meeting their vehicle transportation needs.

Therefore, given the enormous potential impact on the safety, economy and convenience of the vehicle-operating public of proposed changes to the 15-year rule, and at a time when Canadians are in great need of less polluting and more efficient vehicles, we request that implementation of any changes to the 15-year rule be postponed pending a period of consultation with all stakeholders.

By sending you this letter, we anticipate that a new round of dialogue between persons responsible for recommending changes to the regulations and those who are most directly affected by changes will commence. At the end of the day, it might be said that a Government that works to serve the needs of its major constituents has the greatest chance to serve the longest. After all, almost everyone drives a car.

Sincerely,

Louis Skebo, Chairman Dale Leier, Secretary