In early 2018, the Strengthening Motor Vehicle Safety for Canadians Act (Bill S-2) amended the Vehicle Exemptions section of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act in several ways including:
- the authority to grant exemptions was transferred from the Governor in Council to the Minister
- the financial hardship exemption provisions were repealed
- the maximum time period for an exemption to be effective was repealed
- the maximum production volumes to be permitted to request an exemption were repealed
- the development of new safety features, or new kinds of vehicles, technologies, vehicle systems or components was emphasized
- the possibility to obtain a renewal of an exemption was added, and
- a requirement that the government must publish in a timely manner the details of an exemption order was added
Bill S-2 did not change the condition that an exemption can only be provided if it promotes an innovative or safety feature and does not substantially diminish the overall safety performance of the vehicle model. An exemption will only apply to the model of vehicle specified in the exemption order. An exemption cannot be granted for a prescribed class of equipment. Also, an exemption can only apply to safety standards, and not regulations.
As a first step to implementing the Bill S-2 exemptions provisions, Transport Canada circulated a draft exemptions policy proposal among industry stakeholders in October 2018, in order to gather preliminary feedback which was used to develop a new exemption process document. This informal consultation is the next step, after which a regulatory proposal will be published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, followed by a formal comment period. You will also have the opportunity to provide feedback as part of the Canada Gazette process. The final regulatory requirements will be published in the Canada Gazette, Part II.
As a result of these steps, the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations sections 6(11) (Compliance Label) and 13(5) (Applications for Exemption) need to be amended. The following includes a list of the changes that need to be made to the regulations in order to accommodate Bill S-2:
- updating the wording to reflect the Minister's new authority to grant exemption orders
- deleting subsection 13(2), as these requirements are now obsolete
- amending subsection 6(11) to accommodate longer lists of exempted standards on the compliance label or information label, and
- amending subsection 13(5) to provide latitude for vehicle models that lack a windshield or a side window, or lack sufficient glazed surface area to act as a mounting surface for a temporary, although “securely applied” label
The final two points are the ones for which the department most wants more information. When an exemption is granted, the regulations currently require that both the compliance label and a window sticker include information regarding the exemption. The department is specifically seeking information on the best means of informing consumers (and other interested groups) of a vehicle exemption.
The space available on vehicles to affix the compliance label (defined in sections 6 and 7 of the regulations) is generally very limited. Other means of representing exemption data on the compliance label could be advantageous, including machine-readable means such as QR codes. The department is seeking comments on what information should be presented, and how the information can be accommodated in the already very limited label space, especially if exemptions from multiple standards would need to be displayed.
Some vehicles (such as motorcycles or, potentially in the future, automated vehicles) may not have enough windshield or side window space for a temporary window label. The department is proposing to provide a position option for such vehicles, so that the label can be securely applied to an external conspicuous surface of every vehicle of that model. In any case, the label in question “shall be securely applied”, but is intended to be removed by the first retail customer upon taking delivery of the vehicle. On the other hand, the compliance label will remain permanently on the vehicle to display exemption data.
It is important to note that when a company is granted an exemption, the company is responsible for all requirements laid out in the Motor Vehicle Safety Act and accompanying regulations throughout the lifecycle of the vehicle, including notices of defect, and non-compliance requirements.
International perspective
In the United States, the labelling rules for exemptions are codified under Title 49, Subtitle B, Chapter V, Part 555. Not only does Part 555 modify the certification label requirements defined in Part 567, but also, like the Canadian regulation it requires companies to securely affix a temporary label to the vehicle's windshield or side window.
The Part 567 certification label must be permanently affixed to the vehicle, and is typically expected to be found in the door frame area near the driver's seating position. Part 555.9 requires that the certification label requirements of Part 567 be modified to list the standards for which an exemption has been granted. The Part 555.9 specification for a temporary label on the windshield or side window also requires a listing of exempted standards.
While the Canadian and United States requirements for granting an exemption and for labelling are significantly aligned, labelling practices for United Nations-regulated vehicles differ so substantially that no practical parallels can be drawn between the two systems.
Coming into force
This is an informal consultation as part of a pre-regulatory process. If a regulatory proposal is created based on this notice, it would be published with a proposed coming into force date in the Canada Gazette, Part I, followed by a formal comment period. You will also have the opportunity to provide feedback during this formal comment period. Any new regulatory requirement would come into force after it is published in the Canada Gazette, Part II.