Vol. 149, No. 11 — June 3, 2015

Registration

SI/2015-38 June 3, 2015

ECONOMIC ACTION PLAN 2014 ACT, NO. 1

Order Fixing the Day after the Day on which this Order is made as the Day on which Certain Sections of the Act Come into Force

P.C. 2015-587 May 14, 2015

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Transport, pursuant to section 238 of the Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1, chapter 20 of the Statutes of Canada, 2014, fixes the day after the day on which this Order is made as the day on which sections 220 to 222 of that Act come into force.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

The Motor Vehicle Safety Act (MVSA) was recently amended by Parliament by the adoption of Bill C-31, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 11, 2014 and other measures, referred to in this coming-into-force order by its short title, the Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1. Bill C-31 received royal assent on June 19, 2014. The purpose of this Order is to bring into force sections 220, 221 and 222 of the Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1, which amend section 10, Notice of Safety Defects, of the MVSA.

Objective

The objective of the amendments to the MVSA resulting from the bringing into force of sections 220 to 222 of the Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1 is to improve the safety of Canadians through revised oversight procedures and enhanced availability of vehicle safety information. These amendments to the MVSA will improve the means of issuing, administering, and enforcing the notice of defect requirements and introduce new similar requirements for issuing, administering, and enforcing notices of non-compliance.

More specifically, these amendments to the MVSA allow the Minister to regulate the time period within which current owners of vehicles or equipment must be informed of a defect in the design, manufacture or functioning of vehicles or equipment or of any non-compliance with the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations, the Motor Vehicle Tire Safety Regulations or the Motor Vehicle Restraint Systems and Booster Seats Safety Regulations (the regulations). They will also provide the Minister with the power to order a company to issue a notice of defect or a notice of non-compliance where the Minister considers it to be in the interest of safety. Finally, they will provide the Minister with the power to order additional notices to be given when it is determined that not enough vehicles or equipment have had a defect corrected and to make information available for the vehicle in respect of which notices were given.

Background

The MVSA amendments support the objectives of the Regulatory Cooperation Council to enhance the alignment of Canadian and United States regulations while protecting Canadians. This is achieved by establishing common collaborative regulations and standards to obtain closer alignment between both countries.

In addition to improvement to the notice of defect requirements, this amendment introduces new notice of non-compliance requirements. A notice of defect relates to a defect in the design, manufacture or functioning of a vehicle or equipment that affects or is likely to affect the safety of any person. A notice of non-compliance indicates non-compliance of a vehicle or equipment with a requirement of the regulations, which may or may not affect safety. A non-compliance that affects safety could be determined to be a defect, in which case only one notice would be required. This amendment will allow for the introduction of notices of non-compliance which are inconsequential to safety. In such cases, where the Minister determines that the non-compliance is inconsequential to safety, the company would not be required to give a notice.

Certain sections of the Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1 were not brought into force when Bill C-31 received royal assent, as certain sections of the regulations required revisions to align them with the amendments to the MVSA. Subsequent to this coming-into-force Order, the regulations will be updated.

Implications

This amendment to the MVSA will improve the safety of Canadians by permitting regulations for improved consumer information and by providing the Minister the power to order companies to issue notices of defect or non-compliance or subsequent notices, where the company might not otherwise do so. These powers were introduced in the Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1. No other significant implications are expected.

Consultation

The Department informs the automotive industry, public safety organizations, and the general public when amendments to the Motor Vehicle Safety Act are being planned. This provides them the opportunity to comment on these amendments by letter or email. The Department also consults regularly, in face-to-face meetings or teleconferences, with the automotive industry, public safety organizations, the provinces, and the territories. Amendments to the MVSA have been under review and the industry has been consulted during these regularly scheduled meetings.

No specific consultation was undertaken for this Order, as it simply brings into force the sections of the MVSA contained in the Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1.

Departmental contact

Marie Williams-Davignon
Junior Regulatory Development Engineer
Motor Vehicle Safety Directorate
Transport Canada
330 Sparks Street, 11th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0N5
Email: marie.williams-davignon@tc.gc.ca