Bill C-511: An Act respecting the reporting of motor vehicle information and to amend the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (improving public safety)

C-511 Third Session, Fortieth Parliament, 59-60 Elizabeth II, 2010-2011 HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA BILL C-511 An Act respecting the reporting of motor vehicle information and to amend the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (improving public safety) Reprinted as amended by the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities as a working copy for the use of the House of Commons at Report Stage and as reported to the House on March 3, 2011 Mr. Volpe 403109 SUMMARY This enactment amends the Motor Vehicle Safety Act to introduce the concept of “safety-related defect”. It imposes certain reporting requirements on companies and requires the Minister of Transport to take certain measures when he or she determines that a vehicle or equipment contains a potential safety-related defect. This enactment also authorizes the Governor in Council to make regulations requiring companies to report to the Minister of Transport any information requested by the Minister as well as any information that may assist in the identification of safety-related defects in vehicles and equipment in Canada. Finally, this enactment requires the Governor in Council to propose regulations respecting brake override systems for prescribed classes of vehicles that are equipped with an electronic throttle control system. Also available on the Parliament of Canada Web Site at the following address:http://www.parl.gc.ca .vis1 {position: absolute;display:block;} .vis2 {position: static;} 3rd Session, 40th Parliament, 59-60 Elizabeth II, 2010-2011 house of commons of canada BILL C-511 An Act respecting the reporting of motor vehicle information and to amend the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (improving public safety) Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows: SHORT TITLE Short title 1. This Act may be cited as the Proactive Enforcement and Defect Accountability Legislation (PEDAL) Act. 2. [Deleted] 1993, c. 16 MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY ACT 3. Section 2 of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order: “safety-related defect”« défaut relatif à la sécurité » “safety-related defect” means a defect in the design, construction or functioning of any vehicle or equipment of a class for which standards are prescribed that affects or is likely to affect the safety of any person; 4. Subparagraph 5(1)(g)(ii) of the Act is replaced by the following: (ii) facilitating the identification and anal- ysis of safety-related defects; and 5. (1) The heading before section 10 of the Act is replaced by the following: NOTICE OF SAFETY-RELATED DEFECTS (2) The portion of subsection 10(1) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following: Obligation to give notice 10. (1) A company that manufactures, sells or imports any vehicle or equipment of a class for which standards are prescribed shall, on becoming aware of a safety-related defect, cause notice of the defect to be given in accordance with the regulations to (3) Subsection 10(2) of the Act is replaced by the following: Where notice previously given (2) A company is not required to cause notice to be given of a safety-related defect of which notice has already been given under this section by another company that manufactured, sold or imported the vehicle or equipment. (4) Paragraph 10(3)(a) of the English version of the Act is replaced by the following: (a) the Minister may order the company to give notice of the safety-related defect by publication in the prescribed form for a period of five consecutive days in two major daily newspapers in each of the following six regions, namely, the Atlantic provinces, Quebec, Ontario, the Prairie provinces, British Columbia and the Territories, or by dissemination in an alternative medium for such period as the Minister determines; or (5) Subsection 10(4) of the Act is replaced by the following: Contents of notice (4) A notice required to be given under subsections (1) and (3) shall contain, in the form and to the extent prescribed, a description of the safety-related defect, an evaluation of the safety risk arising from it and directions for correcting it. Corrective measures (4.1) The company that causes the notice to be given shall take measures to correct the safety-related defect. (6) Subsection 10(6) of the Act is replaced by the following: Follow-up reports (6) Every company that causes notice to be given under subsection (1) shall submit a report containing prescribed information respecting the safety-related defect and its correction to the Minister in the prescribed form within the prescribed period and quarterly thereafter. 6. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 10: Report to the Minister 10.1 Every company that manufactures any vehicle or equipment of a class for which standards are prescribed shall, in accordance with the regulations, report to the Minister all incidents in respect of which the company has been notified in writing that involve (a) death or serious injury in Canada that is caused, or alleged to be caused, by a possible safety-related defect in a vehicle or equipment manufactured by the company; and (b) death or serious injury outside of Canada that is caused, or alleged to be caused, by a possible safety-related defect in a vehicle or equipment that is identical or substantially similar to a vehicle or equipment offered for sale in Canada. Preliminary determination by Minister 10.2 (1) If, through testing, inspection, investigation, research or other means, the Minister makes a preliminary determination that any vehicle or equipment manufactured in Canada or imported into Canada contains a potential safety-related defect, the Minister shall, without delay, give written notice of that determination to the company that manufactured or imported the vehicle or equipment and publish a notice of that determination in the Canada Gazette. Opportunity to present information and arguments (2) After making a preliminary determination under subsection (1), the Minister shall give the company referred to in that subsection, and all other parties with a legitimate interest, an opportunity to present information and arguments in the prescribed manner in relation to the issue of whether the vehicle or equipment referred to in that subsection contains a safety-related defect. Determination by company (3) The company shall report to the Minister within a time period specified by the Minister after receiving the notice of a preliminary determination of a safety-related defect the findings of any research, testing, studies and evaluations that it has conducted, the company’s determination as to whether a safety-related defect exists and what action the company is taking to correct the safety-related defect, and shall publish a summary of those conclusions and findings in the Canada Gazette. Findings or planned action unsatisfactory (4) Should the Minister find any of the findings or planned action reported by the company under subsection (3) to be unsatisfactory then the Minister may order the company to take any measures the Minister sees fit in the interest of public safety. Regulations (5) The Governor in Council may make regulations respecting the presentation of information and arguments under subsection (2) and the report to the Minister and the publication in the Canada Gazette under subsection (3). Section 10 applies (6) For greater certainty, if the company concludes that the vehicle or equipment contains a safety-related defect, it shall comply with the requirements set out in section 10. 6.1 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 11: Regulations — reporting to Minister 11.1 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations requiring every company to report to the Minister, on a quarterly basis and as requested by the Minister, any information requested by the Minister as well as any information received by the company from foreign and domestic sources that may assist in the identification of safety-related defects in vehicles and equipment in Canada and that relates to (a) claims submitted to the company or to affiliates of the company in respect of deaths, serious injuries and property damage as a result of an alleged safety-related defect, including aggregate statistical data on property damage from alleged safety-related defects; or (b) customer satisfaction campaigns, con- sumer advisories, recalls or other activities involving the repair or replacement of vehicles or equipment. Reporting and review of information (2) Any regulations made under subsection (1) shall (a) specify the manner and form of reporting the information referred to in that subsection; (b) specify the manner in which the information is to be reviewed and utilized to assist in the identification of safety-related defects in vehicles and equipment in Canada, including the systems and processes to be established to review and utilize the information; and (c) require a company that reports information to the Minister under those regulations to publish it in the Canada Gazette within 30 days after the day on which it is reported. Limitation (3) No regulations made under subsection (1) shall impose requirements that are unduly burdensome to a company that manufactures vehicles or equipment, taking into account the cost to the company of complying with the requirements and the Minister’s capacity to use the information referred to in that subsection in a meaningful manner to assist in the identification of safety-related defects in vehicles and equipment in Canada. Periodic review of regulations (4) Any regulations made under subsection (1) shall include procedures for their periodic review and updating. Proposed regulations 11.2 The Governor in Council shall propose regulations respecting brake override systems for prescribed classes of vehicles equipped with an electronic throttle control system. This will be complete within 280 days after the coming into force date of the U.S. enactment of such regulations. 7. Subsection 15(3) of the Act is replaced by the following: Production of documents (3) An inspector may require any person to produce for examination any books, records, reports, test data, shipping bills, bills of lading or other documents or electronically stored data that the inspector believes on reasonable grounds contain any information relevant to the enforcement of this Act or to the identification or analysis of a safety-related defect, and may make copies of or take extracts from any of them. 8. (1) The portion of subsection 17(1) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following: Offence — corporation 17. (1) Every corporation that contravenes any provision of this Act or the regulations (2) The portion of subsection 17(2) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following: Offence — individual (2) Every individual who contravenes any provision of this Act or the regulations Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons