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Ottawa to Change Car Safety Rules to Ease U.S. Imports

By Nicolas Van Praet, National Post (Financial Post)

The Canadian government said Friday it will make changes to Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations to make it easier for Canadians to import vehicles from the United States.

The measures, which could take effect before the end of the year, could provide relief to hundreds of Canadians caught in a bureaucratic trap after they imported cars and trucks in the United States made after Sept.1, 2007 and tried to register them in Canada only to be told they were illegal because they did not have a proper anti-theft immobilizer.

"This amendment will simplify and clarify the process for Canadians importing U.S. vehicles, to ensure those vehicles meet our requirements with respect to anti-theft immobilizers," Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon said in a statement.

The news release did not specify what exactly the amendment was. But Patrick Charette, spokesman for Transport Canada, said the modifications will mean that "if the car is either equipped or can be equipped with an anti-theft immobilizer, you'll be allowed to import your vehicle." He said most new vehicles have such devices installed.

An estimated 1,000 motorists who purchased all-new vehicles in the United States built after Sept.1 have been unable to certify them in Canada due to a new regulation that came into effect on that date requiring U.S. imports to have the immobilizer. Vehicles that popped up on the list of inadmissible vehicles maintained by the Registrar of Imported Vehicles included dozens of models made by General Motors Corp. and Honda Motor Co. among others. Many Canadians told tales of checking the RIV Web site to make sure the vehicle they were buying was admissible and then purchasing it only to see it banned a few days later.

"People are literally sick about this - $35k tied up in a vehicle they don't know where they stand on," one buyer said in an email.

Although the matter may be solved, the larger issue is one of harmonizing vehicle regulations between Canada and the United States. Automakers in Canada have been calling for such harmonization and an end to Canadian-specific rules on such things as bumpers and daytime running lights.

A record number of Canadians are buying vehicles south of the border to take advantage of the purchase power of the loonie and attractive retail deals. Total vehicle imports from the United States for 2007 are expected to top 164,000 vehicles. That's about 4% of all new and used cars and trucks sold nationwide last year.