Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association director Carl Stewart was in Ottawa last week. They were in the federal capital for the GrowCanada Conference that was held from November 29th to December 1st. They had the chance to show support for farmers in a particular way as the Right to Repair bill is currently being debated in the house of commons. 

Stewart feels that farmers should have the right to repair their machinery. "It allows farmers to keep seasonal help over the winter with maintenance and overhaul of machinery. It would dramatically improve bottom line for smaller farmers. There's a bunch of reasons why it's good for farmers."

House of Commons Bill-C244 An act to amend the Copyright Act was introduced in February 2022. The second reading happened in October 2022, and that gives the impression that things are moving along. Stewart comments "It can take some time, because of debating back and forth. Some bills sit in the Senate for 100 days. I think COVID led to quite the backlog. Overall, I would say that the parties just generally can't agree on much anymore."

Getting it fast tracked would be a matter of a grassroots movement. People contacting their MP's saying that this is important. "I think that's one of the most effective ways to speed things up" said Stewart.

He also didn't see how this could hurt the dealerships and manufacturers much. "In lots of cases, this is just going to let producers tell their dealerships what's wrong. They'll be able to make their service calls quicker, and get equipment back to work. Purchasing decisions and better service will just lead to more equipment sales for a given manufacturer."