Repair in Your Region

With 41,505 farms across the province, agriculture is vital to the Alberta economy.  Agribusinesses could see huge gains from unlocking the right to repair. Right now, equipment manufacturers and dealers are blocking farmers from making repairs or going to independent repair shops. This is costing farmers time and money.  

Alberta also already has a strong repair culture, with the largest number of repair and maintenance businesses, per capita, in Canada. Unlocking the right to repair will allow these already existing businesses to grow even further, benefiting their communities and the people who live in them. 

Action Taken to Date

At this time there has been no legislative activity, stances taken by political parties or organizations publicly supporting Right to Repair, in Alberta.  

If you'd like to support right to repair in Alberta, you can get in contact with us at info@canrepair.ca or write to your MLA and ask them to support your right to repair.

With 24 repair cafes across the province, BC has a strong repair culture. In addition, many of BC's major industries, such as agriculture, marine and fishing and forestry are industries that rely on repair services. Unlocking the right to repair will allow for more  items to be repaired at community repair cafes , for new jobs to be created in repair industries and for costs and wait times for repair to be reduced. 

If you'd like to support right to repair in BC, you can get in contact with us at info@canrepair.ca or write to your MLA and ask them to support your right to repair.

Government Stances

• The 2021 convention of the Union of BC Municipalities endorsed a resolution to ask the Province to draft and enact Right to Repair legislation

  • The province responded by citing its work on the Canada-wide Action Plan on Zero Plastic Waste, which includes commitments for the development of targets and standards for repair by the end of 2022, facilitation of economic incentives for repair and other value recovery activities, and consideration of how regulatory and non-regulatory approaches can support product life extension

  • British Columbia also mentioned its work to support for federal efforts, underway at that time, to develop a national strategy for supporting and reducing barriers to value retention processes including repair, refurbishment, and remanufacturing, in all sectors of the economy

With 14,543 farms as of 2021, agriculture is vital to Manitoba's economy. Agribusinesses could see huge gains from unlocking the right to repair. Right now, equipment manufacturers and dealers are blocking farmers from making repairs or going to independent repair shops. This is costing farmers time and money.  

If you'd like to support right to repair in Manitoba, you can get in contact with us at info@canrepair.ca or write to your MLA and ask them to support your right to repair.

Bills Introduced

• Bills 219 and 216, introduced by NDP MLA Jim Maloway, would require a manufacturer of farm machinery, farm equipment, motorized vehicles (though not including a motor vehicle as defined in The Highway Traffic Act) or electronic products, at the request of a consumer or repair business in that field, within a reasonable time, to provide the most recent version of the repair manual, replacement parts, software and other tools that the manufacturer uses, or provides to others, for….

  • Diagnosing, maintaining or repairing its products; or resetting an electronic security function of its products if the function is disabled during diagnosis, maintenance or repair.

• The bill would also require the manufacturer to provide the replacement parts, software and tools at a fair price

• MLA Jim Maloway had also introduced similar pieces of legislation in two previous legislative sessions 

Political Party Positions

• The Green Party of Manitoba has adopted the following as party policy:

  • Incentives for enterprises that repair, reuse, and repurpose items that would otherwise be garbage;

  • Supporting consumers in maintaining their electronics, large appliances and machinery, and being able to access cost-effective repairs to those items, by introducing Right to Repair legislation, including:

    • The availability of parts at reasonable prices; 

    • Provision of free and publicly available service manuals;  

    • Publicly available repair information such as software tools and schematics; 

    • Repairability labeling to inform consumers of the likely lifetime and fixability of the product; and 

    • Enforcing repairable designs (e.g., replaceable batteries, long-term software support, etc).

With almost 50% of New Brunswickers living in rural areas, more than double the national figure, access to a dealership or service center can be challenging. Responsibly removing barriers on what can be repaired and who can repair, can help grow the repair sector. This will create new business opportunities and jobs, and give people repair options closer to home.  

If you'd like to support right to repair in New Brunswick, you can get in contact with us at info@canrepair.ca or write to your MLA and ask them to support your right to repair.

Legislative Activity

• Motion 46 by then Green MLA Kevin Arseneau proposed a resolution on March 28, 2024 that “urged the government of New Brunswick to institute comprehensive right to repair legislation, ensuring that consumers have access to necessary tools, parts, and information to repair their products, and fostering a more sustainable and consumer-friendly marketplace.”

Political Party Positions

• In the 2024 provincial election, the Green Party platform included a commitment to  “Legislate the right-to-repair, requiring companies to provide repair manuals free of charge, and supply parts, software, and tools at a fair price.” 

With about 40% of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians living in rural areas, more than double the national figure, access to a dealership or service center can be challenging. The Rock and Big Land also have the lowest number of repair and maintenance businesses, per capita, of any Canadian province. Responsibly removing barriers on what can be repaired and who can repair, can help grow the repair sector. This will create new business opportunities and jobs, and give people repair options closer to home.  

Action Taken to Date

At this time there has been no legislative activity, stances taken by political parties or organizations publicly supporting Right to Repair, in Newfoundland and Labrador.  

If you'd like to support right to repair in Newfoundland and Labrador, you can get in contact with us at info@canrepair.ca or write to your MHA and ask them to support your right to repair.

The Northwest Territories has already been making great strides with right to repair. Since 2019 the NWT Health and Social Services Authority has been required to included right to repair clauses in all contracts for for health technology, as a part of its territorial policy. The policy has seen multiple updates to ensure reasonable pricing  and access to needed manuals, parts and software. As of 2023,  the clauses have never been required to be waived in any purchases. 

Now, it’s time to take the next step  by responsibly removing barriers on what can be repaired and who can repair. This will create new business opportunities and jobs, reduce waste and give people repair options closer to home.

If you'd like to support right to repair in NWT, you can get in contact with us at info@canrepair.ca or write to your MLA and ask them to support your right to repair.

With over 40% Bluenosers living in rural areas, more than double the national average, access to a dealership or service center can be challenging. Responsibly removing barriers on what can be repaired and who can repair, can help grow the repair sector. This will create new business opportunities and jobs, and give people repair options closer to home.  

If you'd like to support right to repair in Nova Scotia, you can get in contact with us at info@canrepair.ca or write to your MLA and ask them to support your right to repair.

Political Party Positions

• In the 2024 provincial election, the Green Party platform  included a commitment to  “Enact Right to Repair legislation that enshrines the rights of individuals to repair or modify products that they own, saving costs and reducing needless waste.”

With almost 55% of territorial residents living in rural areas, more than double the national average, access to a dealership or service centre can be challenging. This is reflected on the fact that Nunavut has the lowest number of repair and maintenance businesses, per capita, in Canada. 

However, there is a way to improve access to critical repair services. Responsibly removing barriers on what can be repaired and who can do it, can help grow the repair sector. This will create new business opportunities and jobs, and give people options closer to home.  

Action Taken to Date

At this time there has been no legislative activity, stances taken by political parties or organizations publicly supporting Right to Repair, in Nunavut.  

If you'd like to support right to repair in Nunavut, you can get in contact with us at info@canrepair.ca or write to your MLA and ask them to support your right to repair.

With 48,346 farms, the highest of any province, agriculture is vital to the Ontario economy. Agribusinesses could see huge gains from unlocking the right to repair. Right now, equipment manufacturers and dealers are blocking farmers from making repairs or going to independent repair shops. This is costing farmers time and money.  

Ontario also already has a strong repair culture, with almost 30 repair cafes across the province. Unlocking the right to repair will allow for more  items to be repaired at community repair cafes , for new jobs to be created in repair industries and for costs and wait times for repair to be reduced. 

If you'd like to support right to repair in Ontario, you can get in contact with us at info@canrepair.ca or write to your MPP and ask them to support your right to repair.

Bills Introduced 

• A 2024 bill introduced by NDP MPPs John Vanthof and Tom Rakocevic and former NDP MPP Bhutila Karpoche would require that manufacturers of electronic products, household appliances or wheelchairs, motor vehicles and farming heavy equipment make available to consumers and repair businesses…. 

  • the most recent version of the repair manual, replacement parts, software and tools that the manufacturer uses for, or provides to others for, diagnosing, maintaining, or repairing the goods listed, or resetting an electronic security function of such items if the function is disabled during diagnosis, maintenance or repair

  • The bill would also require the manufacturer to provide the replacement parts, software and tools at a fair cost

• A 2019 bill introduced by former Liberal MPP Michael Coteau would require that businesses electronic products are branded as being products of, provide a consumer or repair shop what they need to repair the electronic products themselves. 

  • The company would be able to charge for this, but within limits.

Political Party Positions

• In the 2024 provincial election, the Green Party platform included a commitment to

  • “Lower costs and reduce waste with a Circular Economy Act to support reuse, repair and recycling jobs and businesses” and to

  • “Create a community fund to support tool sharing libraries and repair programs to help people save money and reduce waste

• The 2024 provincial election also saw the Ontario Party platform include a commitment to “Support right-to-repair laws to keep appliances and equipment out of landfills.”

With almost 55% of Islanders living in rural areas, more than double the national figure, access to a dealership or service center can be challenging. Responsibly removing barriers on what can be repaired and who can repair, can help grow the repair sector. This will create new business opportunities and jobs, and give people repair options closer to home.  

If you'd like to support right to repair in PEI, you can get in contact with us at info@canrepair.ca or write to your MLA and ask them to support your right to repair.

Bills Introduced

• A 2023 bill introduced by Liberal MLA Robert Henderson sought to establish a right to repair in the agricultural industry. Among other things, the bill would require that… 

  • “at the request of a purchaser of farm machinery or a farm repair business, a vendor must, within a reasonable time, provide the most recent version of the repair manual, repair parts, software and other tools that the vendor uses, or provides to others, for 

    • Diagnosing, maintaining, or repairing its branded farm machinery; or 

    • Resetting an electronic security function of its branded farm machinery if the function is disabled during diagnosis, maintenance or repair."

• While the bill passed the committee stage, it failed when brought to the whole legislature, with governing Progressive Conservative MLAs voting against it and Green and Liberal MLAs voting for it 

Political Party Positions

• In the 2023 provincial election, the Green Party platform included a commitment to  “Along with federal partners, advocate for a national right-to-repair strategy to make repairs easier and more affordable.

Quebec made history in 2023, as the first province to pass historic right to repair legislation. But the fight is far from over. Quebecers still need legislative changes at the federal level, as well as more skills training in repair trades and support for independent repair businesses from their provincial government. 

Laws Passed

• In 2023, Quebec became the first province in Canada to adopt Right to Repair legislation through amendments to the province's Consumer Protection Act (CPA). Officially titled "Bill 29, an Act to protect consumers from planned obsolescence and to promote the durability, repairability and maintenance goods"

• The amendments to the CPA, as well as the associated regulations, have been coming into force since October 5th 2023 and will be fully in effect by October 5th 2026

The main tenets of the new Bill 29 are:

• Planned obsolescence tactics are an offence - Bill 29 prohibits manufacturers' use of planned obsolescence techniques that reduce the normal operating life of products or devices, including the manufacture or sale of goods that embody these techniques;

• A new warranty of "good working order" - Building upon the existing implied warranties of "fit for purpose" and "merchantable quality" found in consumer protection laws throughout Canada, Bill 29 introduces an additional and set duration warranty for specific types of goods (e.g., household appliances, consumer computing devices, and potentially others).

• Mandating the availability of spare parts and information - Bill 29 obligates manufacturers of goods that require maintenance, replacement, cleaning, or updating to make replacement parts and repair services available for a reasonable period of time after sale and for a reasonable price. 

With 34,128 farms across the province, agriculture is vital to the Saskatchewan economy. Agribusinesses could see huge gains from unlocking the right to repair. Right now, equipment manufacturers and dealers are blocking farmers from making repairs or going to independent repair shops. This is costing farmers time and money.  

Not only that, but Saskatchewan already has a strong repair culture, with nine repair cafes and the largest number of automotive repair and maintenance businesses per capita in Canada. Unlocking the right to repair will allow these already existing community hubs and businesses to grow even further, benefiting their communities and the people who live in them. 

Action Taken to Date

At this time there has been no legislative activity, stances taken by political parties or organizations publicly supporting Right to Repair, in Saskatchewan.  

If you'd like to support right to repair in Saskatchewan, you can get in contact with us at info@canrepair.ca or write to your MLA and ask them to support your right to repair.

With almost double the percentage of territorial residents living in rural areas, compared to the national average, access to a dealership or service center can be challenging. Responsibly removing barriers on what can be repaired and who can repair, can help grow the repair sector. This will create new business opportunities and jobs, and give people repair options closer to home.  

There is also already a vibrant repair community in Yukon and success to build on, with Whitehorse hosting the only repair cafe in northern Canada. 

Action Taken to Date

At this time there has been no legislative activity, stances taken by political parties or organizations publicly supporting Right to Repair, in Yukon.  

If you'd like to support right to repair in Yukon, you can get in contact with us at info@canrepair.ca or write to your MLA and ask them to support your right to repair.