On Friday, April 21, NAEDA Canada along with John Deere and CNH, met with the leadership of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) to discuss the industry commitment on Right to Repair. The meeting was attended by over 30 delegates from the CFA and its representative provincial groups.
NAEDA Canada clearly stated that Canadian farm equipment dealers support a customer’s right to repair their own equipment and that no one has taken away that right from a farmer. NAEDA Canada also shared the viewpoint that the sale of farm equipment is a relationship-based business, and that it is in our dealers’ best interests for our customers to be successful.
Considerable time was spent on outlining the industry commitment on how we support customer repair. The delegates heard about improved access to error or fault codes; that the same repair manuals, diagnostic equipment, special tools, training and parts that are available to dealers are available for purchase by customers or third-party repair shops; and that with this industry commitment the vast majority of repairs can be performed by farmers or third-party repair shops.
The forum was also a good opportunity for NAEDA Canada to share that we do not support modification of equipment or the altering of emissions systems, which would be in violation of Canadian and U.S. law.
Following NAEDA’s presentation, we were joined by technical representatives from both John Deere and CNH, who went into detail on the tools that they make available to support the maintenance, repair and optimization of their branded farm equipment.
The CFA is debating whether or not to take a position on Right to Repair. Currently, Bill C-244 is before Parliament’s Industry and Technology Committee, and NAEDA Canada has appeared before the committee opposing this bill. We believe that an industry solution is much more preferable than a legislated solution and that Bill C-244 causes more problems that include both safety and cybersecurity concerns.
We are pleased with the initial response that we received from the CFA on this meeting, and we have pledged to continue to work together in the future for mutual benefit.
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