Amendments to Canada's Motor Vehicle Safety Act Proposed

The most significant proposed amendments involve recalls of motor vehicles and equipment. One would authorize the Minister of Transport to be able to order a company to correct a defect or a non-compliance in a vehicle or equipment if the Minister considers it to be in the interest of public safety.

A bill has been filed to strengthen Canada's Motor Vehicle Safety Act, which was enacted in 1971 and regulates safety requirements that apply to new and imported motor vehicles and to new motor vehicle equipment. Canada's government said the proposed changes will give it new, better tools for making the country's roads safer.

The most significant proposed amendments involve recalls of motor vehicles and equipment. One would authorize the Minister of Transport to be able to order a company to correct a defect or a non-compliance in a vehicle or equipment if the Minister considers it to be in the interest of public safety. This would give the manufacturer three options: repair the vehicle or equipment, replace the vehicle or equipment with a reasonable equivalent, or reimburse either the cost of repairs to the vehicle or equipment that have already been undertaken or the sale price of the vehicle or equipment, less reasonable depreciation.

The bill also would permit the Minister to order companies to ensure that defects and non-compliance are corrected before the vehicles are sold to consumers.

Also, the bill includes the authority for the Minister to order companies to conduct tests, analyses, or studies on a vehicle or equipment and to require them to provide those results to Transport Canada.

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