Ottawa’s ‘right to repair’ consultation should prioritize consumer rights: experts
Those in favour of creating a federal right to repair law say the government should avoid shaping such legislation according to the wishes of special interest lobbyists as Ottawa gets set to launch consultations on the issue.
Ottawa signalled in its March budget that it would study the need for legislation to ban the sale of products that aren’t intended to last and reinforce consumers’ ability to repair the home appliances and electronics they buy.
“Devices and appliances should be easy to repair, spare parts should be readily accessible, and companies should not be able to prevent repairs with complex programming or hardto-obtain bespoke parts,” the budget document stated.
It highlighted copyright rules that prevent anyone other than a cellphone manufacturer from making what should be a simple fix, as well as restrictions on the interoperability of farming equipment.
National right to repair rules would be especially critical in the agriculture, health-care and consumer goods sectors, said Alissa Centivany, an assistant professor in the faculty of information and media studies at Western University.
Repairs for agricultural equipment often face “egregious” restrictions, she said, pointing to John Deere, which prevents thirdparty repair technicians from fixing tractors by restricting replacement parts and information, and through technology.
“Even if the tractor is repaired correctly with official John Deere parts, it still requires an authorized John
Deere service technician to come out and basically plug their computer into the tractor, press a button to basically tell the tractor that it can work again,” said Centivany.
“Time is of the essence in the agriculture sector and when a farmer can’t have their equipment working, that can result in huge losses, particularly during planting and harvesting season.”
She said research shows biomedical engineers who are trained to fix medical equipment have also seen their work impeded on a regular basis by repair restrictions — a problem that can have dire consequences in remote communities where an authorized technician may not be readily accessible.
“There’s a huge asymmetry of power between manufacturers and consumers that’s due largely, I think, to concentration in the market,” Centivany said. “We need some corrections there to temper anticompetitive practices.”
A bill introduced last week by Quebec’s justice minister would ban the sale of products whose obsolescence is planned and require repair services be available at a reasonable price.