The federal government is siding with Canadian farmers on the right-to-repair debate.
A statement from the federal government calls for an adjustment to the Competition Act that would prevent manufacturers from refusing to provide the means of device and product repair in an “anti-competitive manner.”
That would presumably include certain software and modules on farm equipment that has been off limits to equipment owners. The statement was made in the 2023 Fall Economic Statement released Nov. 21.
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Grain Growers of Canada was among the groups applauding the decision.
“Enabling growers to access essential tools and software for maintaining their equipment — such as tractors and combines — will foster a more equitable landscape between manufacturers and consumers,” executive director Kyle Larkin said in a news release.
This right to repair will enable producers to save time during critical points of the growing season, the release added.
The question of who has the right to repair — manufacturers or producers — has driven a long-fought battle on both sides of the debate.
In a webinar held by the Canada West Foundation last year, Eric Wareham of the North American Equipment Dealers Association defended manufacturers’ ability to hold certain repair tools and methods in-house. He argued that farmers already have the ability to repair 98 percent of a piece of ag equipment.
“The two percent we do not allow access to is our critical safety and emissions criteria functions,” said Wareham.
“We fully support the right to repair but not to modify,” he added, referring to manufacturer concerns that, if given proprietary repair tools, some owners will damage their equipment by altering it.
Larkin said in an interview that although the announcement is a step in the right direction, there needs to be more clarity as to what and what is not included under the amendment as it goes forward.
“The devil is going to be in the details,” he said.
“Of course we want agriculture, equipment, tractors, combines, etc. to be included. It’s not precisely clear in the economic statement that it will be included.
“But when they do talk about right to repair, typically what we have here is agriculture equipment, automobiles, home appliances, etc. So we’re still having conversations here in Ottawa to figure out exactly what the details are going to be because we need this in Canada as soon as possible.”
The right-to-repair lobby would also like to see amendments to the Copyright Act, said Wareham.
“One of the challenges that farmers have experienced is that a lot of the time manufacturers will stand behind their intellectual property, and that’s what they’ll use to not offer farmers the access to tools and diagnostics information to actually repair their equipment themselves.
“They also hold back a lot of that software from independent shops.”
Contact jmelchior@farmmedia.com
