Canada’s Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Transport, made the annexed “Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Moto Vehicle Safety Act (Recall Information)” under subsections 10(1) and 10.1(1), section 10.3 and subsection 11(1) of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (MVSA).
The new regulations will require companies that issue a safety recall to publish safety recall-related information on their website, in a timely manner, with the goal of increasing recall awareness and completion.
Transport Canada (TC) currently estimates that in excess of one in five vehicles in use on Canada’s roads today has an unresolved safety recall. Based on the 33.3 million registered vehicles in 2019, this means that approximately 6.6 million unsafe vehicles are circulating on Canadian roads, potentially endangering not only the occupants but also other road users. Unresolved safety issues affecting vehicles, restraint systems for children and disabled persons, and tires (restraint systems for children and disabled persons and tires are hereafter referred to as vehicle equipment) can lead to property damage, injury or even death.
Currently, regulations made under the (MVSA) require companies to notify current owners and prescribed persons of a safety recall and how to have it corrected. While a company must send notifications to current owners and prescribed persons of a safety recall, many still go unresolved.
An analysis of recall completion rates shows that older vehicles are more likely to have unresolved recalls. Several reasons could account for this, including a change of address that is not updated in a company’s database, or the fact that older vehicles with expired warranties are less likely to see regular servicing, particularly at the company dealerships where clients can be readily informed of any outstanding safety recalls. Furthermore, owners may not be aware of how to access safety recall information affecting their vehicles or vehicle equipment.
The regulations will standardize the availability and the type of information required, provide a timeline by which companies must make such information available, and facilitate Canadians’ ability to find recall information — especially relevant in cases where company notifications of safety recalls are not received by the current vehicle or vehicle equipment owner due to missing, erroneous, or incomplete owner’s contact information.
The Regulations will also require companies designated by the Minister of Transport (the Minister) to include an online search tool that provides safety recall information that is specific to one vehicle, using the unique 17-character vehicle identification number (VIN). In other words, the Regulations will require that certain companies provide a VIN lookup tool on their websites.
Read the annexed regulation details here from the Canada Gazette.
