Talk:Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council

Semi-protected edit request on 30 October 2023
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Criticism

This section may lend undue weight to certain ideas, incidents, or controversies. Please help to create a more balanced presentation. Discuss and resolve this issue before removing this message. (October 2023) In 2021, a value for money audit by the Auditor General of Ontario found OMVIC is “asleep at the wheel” when it came to meeting its mandate of protecting consumers.[2]

The report found that OMVIC had failed to act on about 50% of the time when consumers filed complaints against dealers between 2016 and 2020, leaving consumers to fend for themselves in civil court.

The report found OMVIC did not inspect 60% of dealers within its target of three years. In a five period, OMVIC simply closed inspection files in 77% of inspections where it was found that laws were broken instead of taking enforcement action.

Former OMVIC board member Mohammed Bouchama told the Toronto Star that OMVIC “is going backwards” and said the board is putting dealers’ interests before consumers.

Bouchama sat on OMVIC’s consumer advocacy committee for years, and recently spent two years on its board of directors until he was let go for “asking too many questions.”

Bouchama said a typical consumer complaint might involve a transmission that fails shortly after the used vehicle is purchased, and the dealer refuses to fix it under the warranty that was sold with the car. OMVIC is supposed to act on behalf of the car buyer, but frequently nothing is done.

“There’s no enforcement. Dealers are breaking the law every day,” Bouchama said. “The disciplinary committee met 35 times for 8,000 dealers last year. I could point to 200 transgressions online right now.”

In his comments to the media, he pointed to the composition of OMVIC’s board as the underlying problem. Nine of the 12 members are automobile dealers, while a tenth, Rod Jackson, is the son of a car dealer, Bouchama said. Another member is a political appointment by the Conservatives, while the Chair is a retired public servant.

“Nobody on the present board rightfully can be called pro-consumer,” he said. “They also got rid of staff who cared about consumer protection.” [3]

Even though OMVIC increased its annual consumer awareness spending by 60% over five years to nearly $2 million, 70% of Ontarians surveyed remained unaware of OMVIC and its role.

Since 2015, OMVIC has doubled its vehicle transaction fee from $5 to $10. This fee is paid by the consumers on each vehicle they buy, and that is how OMVIC is funded. The audit found OMVIC used this money to shore up large budget surpluses instead of allocating it for consumer protection.

Meanwhile, OMVIC’s board members claimed over $523,000 in meal expenses from 2016-2020. Following one board meeting in October 2018, 11 board members and five OMVIC employees spent $2,700 on dinner at a Niagara winery at OMVIC’s expense. Nearly 40% of this bill was for alcohol. [4] Omvic Comms (talk) 17:21, 30 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. M.Bitton (talk) 22:19, 30 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Please restore all deleted content from Oct 25. Sources cited are the most reliable and accurate sources available: an auditor general’s report and a reputable daily newspaper. Most the deleted content is nearly verbatim from these sources. These matters concern this company’s track record in meeting the public trust as a public organization and should not be struck from the public record. Confusedwiki (talk) 17:54, 7 November 2023 (UTC)