At 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, October 29th, Harold's Auto Service will host an information session with Art Wilderman of the Canadian Independent Automotive Association (CIAA) to address the Right to Repair issue in Canada.

Right to Repair is a growing industry-wide problem in which automobile manufacturers are refusing to share tools, technology & software necessary to "flash" or re-program integral computer and electronic systems in the vehicles of individuals who CHOOSE to have their vehicles serviced at independent (non-auto-dealership) service providers. Further impact is felt by independent parts retailers (jobbers) who are shut out of the market and unable to provide these important tools to the service providers who support them.

We are a $16.7 billion industry employing more than 410,000 people across Canada. In this country our industry continues to lose ground and market share to the dealerships, and with electronic technology becoming increasingly integrated into vehicle systems, the withheld information is crucial to our long-term financial success. Without the release of this information and capabilities, there is an increasing void in the electronic services that we are able to provide to the loyal clients who CHOOSE an independent service provider to service their vehicles. The end result is higher costs for ALL consumers, as well as a drop in the level and type of service provided to all drivers on the road.

"There are over 18 million vehicles on the road in Canada today. Approximately 59% of them are equipped with on-board diagnostic capabilities, referred to as OBD II. This ratio will increase over time. The number of vehicle components monitored by OBD II will also continue to increase. The tools and software required to access the computer control units on vehicles have become increasingly proprietary. Vehicle design process is also more sophisticated. The use of exotic materials and changes in welding and assembly technologies make it necessary for independent repair shops to access factory-specific training and tools." (AIA Canada - AIA is a national trade association representing the automotive aftermarket industry in Canada.)

Please check out the following link which provides documentation outlining the Right to Repair issue. While some of the information (being updated this week) is directly "election" related, it is all highly relevant. The documents have been designed to assist you in making you and your staff as well as your clients and elected government officials aware of the situation.

LINK - www.righttorepair.ca

This is an incredibly important financial issue for ALL independent service providers - specialty shops and general repair shops and jobbers alike so we are looking forward to your attendance. Please make every effort to email, phone or otherwise contact any of your business associates to also attend as their presence can only help to demonstrate the importance of this issue with the media and the public.

Local Global TV news will be in attendance, and with luck we may have coverage from Global National with Francis Silvaggio. We are hoping other news outlets will attend to help this information gets out to the general public. The involvement and voice of the public is crucial as we attempt to apply pressure to change this situation but first the public must be informed. Remember that your voice only counts if you raise it!!

Thank you for taking time from your busy schedule to consider attending to learn about this very important issue.

Beverly Kaltenbruner
partner
Harold's Auto Service
401A 31 Street North
Lethbridge, AB T1H 3Z4
403-329-4664
haroldsauto@telus.net
www.haroldsautoservice.com

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Hi Trio Trev, I wouldhave loved to attend, I heard about it this weekend while attending the CIAA sponsered re-flash trainingin Calgary. It was a little short for notice, keep us posted on the meeting.

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Hey CALIBER, you didn't MISS the meeting. The meeting is tomorrow, Wednesday, October 29th at 6:30 p.m., and your attendance is most welcome. After the small notice posted in the Lethbridge Herald today, I've had a couple calls this morning from interested diesel shop owners. The way things look, it's the more, the merrier so check our web site for a map to our location. www.haroldsautoservice.com

We need to have this issue a topic of conversation in ALL shops. We have a petition that we will be inviting all attendees to sign tomorrow.

Also we are meeting with Rick Casson, MP for Lethbridge on Tuesday November 4th . Unfortunately Mr Casson is in Ottawa this week and will miss the Wednesday meeting, but Art Wilderman will be present on the 4th to lend the strength of his voice & information to our meeting with Mr. Casson.

It is imperitive for ALL shops to raise their voice - can't hear you if you don't speak up.

Clients in our shop have been outraged when reading about the situation, so a petition and a couple information sheets on your front counter can go a long ways to educate the general public and increase the pressure on manufacturers to maintain a level playing field for the ENTIRE industry.

Have a great day and hope to see you tomorrow.

Beverly & Brian @ Harold's Auto Service

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Hi Beverly&Brian, I will not be ableto make the meeting this time, thats what I meant when I posted. Our clients are outraged as well learn about the situation.
Say hi to Art for me, and ask him how he thought the weekend was in Calgary, he truly put in an enormous effort. It's nice to have someone care about the industry.

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This past weekend I attended the re-flash training in Calgary. Although it was in my eyes a great success' the attendance could have been better...

Art Wilderman put forward a great deal of time and effort to make the weekend a success. The true value of the CIA is felt when attending such events. We, as the future progresses need to become more unified. When attending any course or seminar, turn and make a connection with a fellow shop owner or technician, it is amzing what that person may be able to add to your business.

I would like to personally thank Art for bringing us together. Without this organization it WILL be beyond our generation before the automotive industry becomes more unified.

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Just an update on the Right to Repair meeting at our shop Wed, Oct 29th.

We had representation from about 22 different businesses - ranging from body shop, automotive repair (city & rural) local independents, and one Canadian Tire representative who is taking upon himself to "work on" his new owner/boss to join the CIAA and also display the petition. Approximately half the attendees took membership &/or Petition handout kits back to their location.

Art was (as usual) passionate regarding the hurdles facing our industry, and had a completely attentive audience.

Global TV, 95.5 Radio News and The Lethbridge Herald all conducted interviews with Art Wilderman as well as my husband/partner Brian Kaltenbruner regarding our shop viewpoint.

There was a lot in interest shown in forming a local association of independent providers, so Brian will be following up with emails and we've offered up our shop as a meeting place for the group for the forseeable future.

We have a meeting scheduled with Rick Casson, our local member of parliament on Tuesday, Nov 4 (6:30 p.m.) and Art Wilderman has graciously consented to drive down to Lethbridge once again to help us drive home the message.

With a little luck this will help to spread the news.

I have developed some handouts we are giving to our customers. These have been emailed to the CIAA and are for shops to provide their customers with a little more indepth information on the Right to Repair as well as helpful if you wish to host a meeting in your own shop. You can contact me as well if you wish to have them emailed directly to your location.

haroldsauto@telus.net

This material might make it a little easier for some shops with limited time and resources to host a meeting of their own. I have quoted a great deal of information from the AIA Canada site and hopefully they will be of use to other shops in Canada. Included are:

1. A notice (to shop owners) to email out if you wish to host a meeting.
2. 3 page information set (overview of the issue) you can hand out to customers at your shop.

This is in addition to the Petition Kit that can be found on the AIA Canada web site (aiacanada.com). Follow the links on left bar to Right to Repair, then Take Action, then Tool Box.

Thank you so much Art for your hard work and assistance to our shop in spreading the word!!! You are indeed a good ambassador for our industry.

Beverly & Brian Kaltenbruner
haroldsauto@telus.net
www.haroldsautoservice.com

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Hi guys, are there any links to the press coverage, stories or news castings that might have developed from the meeting?

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Hi Caliber (Nov 7/08)

Unfortunately the links are time sensitive as the media moves on to other things. I did not see your posting till this morning (7th) as year end has come to us once again. I did email to Art Wilderman the text of the article that appeared in the Lethbridge Herald, and he has a copy of the "feature" portion of the story that aired on Global TV in his posession.

Art is getting that information uploaded onto the CIAA site, although I don't know if that is completed as yet.

We were approached yesterday Nov 6, by CityTV for background information etc on the Right to Repair initiative, and Brian is being interviewed by them this afternoon. As there is no local (Lethbridge) news production by CityTv I am assuming that this will appear on the Calgary CityTv News sometime in the next 24-48 hours, if they do indeed air the story. We have tried to give the reporter as much background information as possible to help him see the whole picture on the initiative.

There must be public interest out there as the CityTv reporter contacted our shop after reading the Lethbridge Herald article.

This past Tuesday evening we had a sit down with our local member of parliament Rick Casson, Art Wilderman, Conrad from Graham's Garage in Coaldale, and my partner, Brian. As an individual with personal interest in cars (Rick wanted to have a local body shop at one point in time) he is very interested in the Right to Repair initiative.

We have had correspondence back and forth since to help ensure we are going about things properly to create a viable petition (which we don't have at this point).

Mr. Casson encouraged and advised us to have ALL our members and interested parties host a meeting, and either invite their MP to attend OR have a sit down meeting to explain the issue and background information. Our meeting was MOST encouraging.

I don't know where you are located, but would be happy to tell you what we did to "stir the pot" in southern Alberta. I have materials I can email to you to help you host a meeting and I know Art would love to attend and speak to the issues at hand. You can call me toll-free at 1-866-229-4664 or email me at haroldsauto@telus.net

If every area stirs the pot a little, we should be able to help get the general public educated as to what they are in danger of losing.

Momentum is everything when you are trying to make a point!!

beverly kaltenbruner

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Protecting your rights as an independent service provider does not come easy and does not come cheap!

Moving forward on the Right to Repair initiative is a costly venture both in personal time and financial outlay. The executive of the CIAA and others are actively pursuing the goal of a level playing field for independent service providers, jobbers, associated industry and dealerships alike.

They are working to ensure YOUR future, YOUR financial success and YOUR business independence.

We cannot expect these individuals to fund this venture from their own pockets - a situation that I'm quite certain is occurring as an annual budget of approximately $120,000 does not go far in these days of rapidly increasing costs. No-one in the CIAA is getting rich from their involvement.

ALL sectors of the independent automotive market MUST be willing to buck up ........................ literally.

We again throw out our challenge to ALL CIAA members and non-members alike. Please examine your own financial status and your own committment to your industry and to this initiative. .

We challenge you to take time to make a small calculation at the end of each month and commit to a $0.25 per invoice per month surcharge over and above the nominal $75.00/month CIAA membership. If that amount doesn't fit your cash flow, find an amount that does fit and contribute that.

This additional contribution will help those who are working so hard on the Right to Repair issue to PROTECT YOUR FUTURE.

If you're not a member of the CIAA, become a member. Make a few phone calls, host a meeting, talk to your member of parliament, talk to other independent service providers in your home area. Get to know the issues - get to know the people who support your industry in your community.

THIS IS AN INVESTMENT IN YOUR OWN FUTURE AND THE FUTURE OF OUR INDUSTRY.

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Recent CIAA discussions brought up the subject of staffing and its related stresses. Lately' in most of Canada, there has been a shortage of qualified automotive service technicians. One option discussed was that of bringing in an employee from out of country. There has been some attempt at doing this by a couple of members, they have expressed that it has been a struggle and are still waiting after months.
Has anyone been successful at this? What were some of the obsticles you you had to deal with? And is there anything that can be done to speed up the process?
Sharing this type of information will likely help others wondering what to do.

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if we are seeing a variation in qualifications of techs across canada, what sort of "shortcomings" can we expect from international techs?

if all the news is true about the tech job losses due to cutbacks, i think there should be a very large pool of trained techs to draw from within our own provincial borders.

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if we are seeing a variation in qualifications of techs across canada, what sort of "shortcomings" can we expect from international techs?

if all the news is true about the tech job losses due to cutbacks, i think there should be a very large pool of trained techs to draw from within our own provincial borders.

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I'm quite looking forward to the "availability" of technicians. Its not that I want them to have to lose their jobs, but it will be nice to here of some quality employees who actually care about their job. Maybe even start taking a bit of pride in what they do.
Oops there I go day dreaming again.

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during the ciaa board meeting i was reminded of this forum.
seeing that there are numerous forums for techs and owners to align to, how do we muster up some interest with this one and more importantly what are the "rules of engagement"?

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Firstly I am no computer tech , and I do not know what the rules are, or should be.
I do think that we need to structure the forum, maybe as we contact the members we can find out what they would want/use in a forum, from there I think it will develop. Obviously there needs to be a forum moderator, to insure that the forum is being used as it was intended. Other than that, Possibly a program to operate it (again I'm not sure what that entails). I can ask my computer guy what he would suggest.
Mike.

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well i'm sure we can practice the same policies that are in place at other sites. yes they do need to be written up and moderated. having witnessed how sideways a conversation can go within a moderated forum, i can asure you it will happen here too.
how many souls have registered?
who currently is running the forum?

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how many souls have registered? I don't know...
who currently is running the forum? I don't know that either.
I have spoken to my "Tech" guy, and he has forwarded me a couple of free software downloads for forums.
He said that there are a couple of different programs out there depending on how the server is set up, this website runs its web pages using, Windows and Microsoft's Active Server Pages, but if it were to be run on a different server it may be running UNIX+PHP. Who should we contact?
MIke.

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anything that is posted here is cc to me for review. If anything questionable is posted it will be removed.

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Jim Fraser of warehouse services and I had a meeting with MP Tim Uppal on Saturday. In short he felt that the Bill was a good idea but he had some issues as to how it was written, in particular the CEPA he wasn't clear on what the Bill wanted with that. With that, he cant guarantee support at this time, he will keep us posted as he hears from Brian Masse.
Any other meetings out there?
Mike.

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Open to any and all automotive shops, jobbers, suppliers and anyone else interested in the industry.
Come and learn how to get customers to your door!!!!
I am a local testimonial to how well just it works!!!!
Come and see for yourself, I promise you won't be dissapointed.

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Hi, this is Rita Kause, President of the CIA ASSOCIATION.

This coming Wednesday, June 10, at 1:00 PM Mountain time, I’ll be holding a last-minute free teleseminar with Ron Ipach, North America’s leading advisor to the independent auto repair industry – and I’d like you to join us.

For the past 11 years, Ron has been helping auto repair shop owners all over the world to get and keep all the best quality customers that their shops can handle.

In fact, because of the clever marketing strategies that I’ve learned from Ron, my husband Mel and I have grown our little rural shop (the closest town is 20 miles away!) from doing a mere $540,000/year 3 years ago to now doing well over $1,100,000 year – yes, even in this lousy economy.

Let’s face it, our economy isn’t doing so well and it’s going to get much worse before it gets better. Ron has agreed to join me on a telephone conference for about 30 minutes where we will be discussing how we shop owners can not only survive, but to thrive in this lousy economy.

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Here are the details that you’ll need to join us on the call:

Wednesday, June 10th @ 1:00 Mountain
Call 512-597-6020 and enter code 788546#

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I hope you can join us on the call,

All my best wishes,

Rita Kause
President CIA ASSOCIATION

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this has the beginnings of a shop unity or seperation topic.

there are a few that are chiming inwith their thoughts, some positive, some against the whole idea and there are the curiuos onlookers.

there seems to be alot of confusion about what this means.perhaps we should polish up or ideas and post them on this webpage. that way when their is a question raised we can direct them here, rather than have segmented discussions in multiple forums.

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