Fight For Your Right to Repair

Manufacturers are making it harder for us to repair products we buy. Instead, we’re being forced to replace our appliances and devices more frequently, leading to an increase in costs and a massive global e-waste problem. 

The government has the power to mandate the right to repair, and give us the right to ask for a repair manual, tools and spare parts from a manufacturer. It’s a highly popular idea that spans the political spectrum, and if enough of us speak out we could see this become a reality in Canada. 

Will you sign this petition calling on the Federal Minister of Innovation to table Right to Repair legislation? 

Click here to see petition text

To the Minister of Innovation,

When we buy a product, whether it be a car, medical equipment, electronic device, appliance or farm equipment, we expect to have the right and ability to repair it when it breaks. But in recent years, manufacturers have been making it increasingly difficult to repair products through restrictive warranties, software locks, design features and restrictions on who can buy spare parts. This flawed business model is bad for our wallets and the planet, as replacing products more often than necessary contributes to a growing e-waste problem.

We call on you to introduce legislation in Parliament that enshrines our right to repair our own products by requiring companies to make repair manuals, diagnostics tools, necessary software and service parts available at a reasonable and non-discriminatory price.

Sincerely,

This campaign is hosted by OpenMedia. We will protect your privacy and keep you informed about this campaign and others. Find OpenMedia's Privacy Policy here.

Update, June 12: Thanks to the contributions of over 100 OpenMedia community members and iFixit, we were able to commision a poll that shows that 75% of people across Canada would support Right to Repair legislation in Canada. You can see the results by clicking here. 

The right to repair movement is growing across North America and Europe. Already, the European Union and at least 20 U.S. states are trying to pass strong right to repair legislation to enshrine this right into law.1

Canada just had its first right to repair bill tabled in the Ontario parliament by MPP Michael Coteau.2 This is a huge milestone for anyone who has tried to repair products they own only to realize it’s prohibitively expensive or outright impossible. 

But this is not enough. We need federal legislation that gives everyone across Canada the right to repair!

Why should our MPs care? Here are a few reasons:

  • Jobs: Hundreds of thousands of people across Canada are employed by the repair and second-hand market industry. As products become more disposable and companies restrict who can and cannot repair products, small community businesses are forced to shut down. Imagine if your local mechanic could no longer service your car and you had to take your car to the official dealership across town every time you needed an oil change!
  • E-waste: When our products are too expensive or impossible to repair, we are forced to throw these out and buy new ones. This is creating a huge global e-waste problem that could be drastically reduced with sensible right to repair legislation.3
  • Affordability: Low and middle income people are already struggling to survive in today’s economy. By making products more expensive to repair or disposable, people are forced to replace their products more often, increasing the cost of ownership. 
  • People in Canada want it: This is a policy that has widespread support across the political spectrum and it’s a growing movement. To such an extent that legislators across the US and the EU are already looking into implementing right to repair legislation in their jurisdictions despite the massive industry lobby trying to stop these bills to protect their profits.

Sources:

  1. Climate change: 'Right to repair' gathers force: BBC
  2. Right to Repair Legislation Is Officially Being Considered In Canada: Motherboard
  3. E-waste is the Toxic Legacy of our Digital Age: iFixit.org

If you haven't taken action yet click here

Press: Rodrigo Samayoa | Phone: +1 (888) 441-2640 ext. 4 | [email protected]