January 23, 2024: The Canadian province of Prince Edward Island is debating a Private Members Bill on Right to Repair. Bill # 110 has been introduced and sponsored by Liberal Opposition Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Robert Henderson. The Bill proceeded to committee for debate and has come out of committee with unanimous support.
Having said that, elected members in Canadian legislatures typically vote along party lines. The Liberal Opposition in P.E.I. is very small; holding only three seats of the 27 in total. The bill itself closely follows the industry commitment on supporting the customer’s right to repair, requires that service repair manuals are made available to the customer and references reasonable prices on repairs. The bill may violate Canada’s Copyright Act because it does make reference to proprietary software.
The language in Bill #110 is not the worst language that we have seen in Right to Repair Bills in Canada and the U.S., however we are concerned with precedent, so we will be providing comments in opposition to this Bill. As it is a Private Member’s Bill, and with very little political influence held by the Liberal opposition, we are confident that this Bill will not proceed.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office.