Date:         Thu, 17 May 2007 14:27:00 -0400
Reply-To:     Christopher Gronski <gronski@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Christopher Gronski <gronski@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Review of 15 year Canadian Importation Rule
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

This has been on the list before but I ran across it today and I
thought I'd share it with the list...

Chris

http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/importation/15yearrule.htm

Considerations Prompting the Review of the Age Threshold for Exclusion
from CMVSS

The Provincial and Territorial authorities requested, via the Canadian
Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) that Transport
Canada review the age limit exclusion on the prescribed classes of
vehicles that could be imported without complying with Canada Motor
Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS). Given the substantial recent
increase in the importation of vehicles over 15 years old, the
provincial and territorial authorities have been seeing more of these
imported older vehicles being used on their roads. The authorities are
questioning whether the safety of the travelling public is being
compromised as these vehicles are excluded from having to comply with
the CMVSS. Since the year 2000, the number of vehicles over 15 years
old imported into Canada has increased significantly, with annual
levels of 16,000 to 17,000 vehicles. The cumulative total at the end
of 2006 stood at over 73,000 vehicles. Transport Canada initiated a
statistical analysis to ascertain the number and type of vehicles in
that age group that are being imported, as well as their
representation in collisions and other types of road safety issues. A
research paper completed by Transport Canada entitled "Study on the
Effect of Vehicle Age and the Importation of Vehicles 15 Years and
Older on the Number of Fatalities, Serious Injuries and Collisions in
Canada" was presented at the Canadian Multidisciplinary Road Safety
Conference XVI in June 2006. Proceedings are available through the
Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals at
http://www.carsp.ca/cmrsc_old.htm.

Safety Standards: Ensuring the Safety of Canadians

Canadian and U.S. safety requirements are among the most stringent in
the world and have resulted in significant safety improvements since
the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (MVSA) enactment in 1971. The CMVSS
address three major aspects in vehicle safety, namely "crash
avoidance", "crash worthiness" and "occupant protection". Each of
these involves performance-based standards that can be verified only
through dynamic and usually destructive testing. Compliance with these
performance-based safety standards cannot be determined, for example,
through a provincial mechanical fitness inspection, which is used to
determine that the vehicle is mechanically sound. These safety
performance requirements have to be engineered at the design stage and
manufactured into the vehicle at the time of assembly. By and large,
the standards cannot be met via retrofitting a vehicle using
after-market or salvaged parts. The Canadian safety standards include
features such as fuel system integrity, side impact protection,
frontal impact occupant protection, and child seat safety
requirements, which are unmatched anywhere in the world. For example,
the Canadian test speed for rear impact fuel system integrity was
recently increased from 50 km/h to 80 km/h. In Europe this requirement
is just over 30 km/h.

Not only are Canadian and U.S. regulations considered the most
stringent in the world, they are significantly different from those of
other countries. For example, Canadian child restraints would not
necessarily function properly if installed in an older, imported
vehicle that was not built to meet the CMVSS. The child seat
anchorages in Canadian certified vehicles must be able to withstand
significantly higher forces than those from other countries. This
allows Canadian child seats to secure older, heavier children. Using a
child seat for larger children, connected to the anchorages of a
vehicle constructed to other country's requirements, could increase
the risk of a failure of the anchorages during a collision. This could
result in the child being ejected from the vehicle.

Proposed Amendment

Based on the departmental study and the significant differences
between Canadian motor vehicle safety standards and those of other
countries, the department is proposing to amend the exclusion
threshold from 15 to 25 years, in order to return the regulation to
its original intent, which is to promote the safety of the travelling
public by requiring that all imported vehicles less than 25 years old
be compliant or capable of being made compliant with CMVSS. This
amendment would also align the age threshold with that of the U.S.

Public Consultation

Transport Canada will be holding a consultation session with
interested stakeholders at a date/location to be announced. The
department will be presenting its study entitled Study on the Effect
of Vehicle Age and the Importation of Vehicles 15 Years and Older on
the Number of Fatalities, Serious Injuries and Collisions in Canada.
Additional information concerning the proposed change to the age
threshold will also be presented. Interested stakeholders and
associations will have the opportunity to present their views.

Preliminary Comments on the Review of this Importation Rule

Comments regarding the proposed amendment to change the exclusion
threshold from 15 to 25 years may be addressed to 15YearRule@tc.gc.ca.
You may also use the electronic form to submit your comments. Please
note that direct replies will not be provided; however, all comments
will be reviewed and considered during the preparation of any proposed
amendment, which would be published in the Canada Gazette Part I.

Formal Comments on a Proposed Amendment

Stakeholders will also have the opportunity to comment formally on any
proposed amendment to the rule subsequently published in the Canada
Gazette Part I. At that time, all interested parties will have 75 days
to submit their comments. Information on how to submit comments will
be published together with the proposal and will be available on the
Canada Gazette website http://www.canadagazette.gc.ca.

Environmental Concerns

The department shares environmental concerns and suggests the need for
caution when comparing emissions of older vehicles to newer ones.
Small engine size does not automatically equate with small quantities
of criteria air pollutants being emitted per specific distance (i.e.
grams/km) and testing is required before conclusions can be drawn.
Transport Canada does not regulate either criterion or greenhouse gas
emissions, and further clarifications may be obtained from Environment
Canada and Natural Resources Canada. They can be reached through their
websites at the following addresses: www.ec.gc.ca  and
www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca.

BACKGROUND: History of the 15-Year Importation Exclusion
The Motor Vehicle Safety Act

In 1971, Parliament enacted the MVSA to enable the Governor in Council
to make regulations to promote the safety of the travelling public.
The mandate of the MVSA is to regulate the manufacture and importation
of vehicles and vehicle equipment to reduce the risk of death, injury
and damage to property and the environment.

The MVSA applies to all vehicles of certain prescribed classses
imported into Canada or manufactured in Canada and shipped across
provincial boundaries. The MVSA requires that the vehicles must comply
with applicable CMVSS, and be certified by the original manufacturer
for conformity with applicable CMVSS that were in effect at the time
of the vehicle's main assembly. Section 4 of the Motor Vehicle Safety
Regulations (MVSR) prescribes the classes of vehicles that are covered
under these regulations.

The Act and the Importation of Used Vehicles

The Department of Finance regulations prohibit the importation of used
vehicles less than 15 years old from all countries. Since the MVSA
came into effect on January 1, 1971, vehicles 15 years old in 1986
were then subject to the MVSA and could not enter Canada unless the
vehicles were fully compliant with CMVSS. The analysis done at that
time indicated that few vehicles over 15 years were being imported,
most of them generally being collector's items originating from the
U.S. Their impact on road safety in Canada was deemed negligible since
Canadian and U.S. motor vehicle safety standards were comparable.
Section 4 of the MVSR was therefore amended in 1986 to exclude, from
the prescribed classes of vehicles, those vehicles manufactured 15
years or more before the date of their importation, except for buses.
Buses were not included in this amendment, because of their nature as
public transportation vehicles. The 1986 amendment to the MVSR made it
consistent with the Department of Finance's regulation.

With the advent of the Free Trade Agreement with the U.S., the
Department of Finance regulations prohibiting the importation of used
vehicles less than 15 years old were gradually removed for vehicles
purchased in the U.S. The Department of Finance prohibition on the
importation of used vehicles less than 15 years old from countries
other than the U.S. is still in existence. The MVSA was also amended
and on April 12, 1995, under the Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV)
program, vehicles less than 15 years old that were originally
manufactured for the U.S. market were allowed to be imported. This
change to the MVSA allows Canadians the opportunity to import a number
of models of vehicles that would otherwise be denied entry into
Canada, provided they are modified to comply with CMVSS prior to being
presented to provincial or territorial authorities for licensing in
Canada. The objective of this program is to protect Canadian road
users by ensuring that vehicles imported from the U.S. provide a
comparable level of safety to similar Canadian-specification vehicles.
This proposed amendment to the age exclusion would not change this
aspect.