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Toronto, November 15, 1999 - The
Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry
Council (OMVIC) has introduced a
compulsory Certification Course
for Ontario’s dealers and
salespeople, which promises to
enhance the professionalism of
dealers and salespeople in the
province.
As of November 15, 1999, motor
vehicle dealers entering the
profession will be required to
have passed the certification
course before applying for
registration under the Motor
Vehicle Dealers Act. New
salespeople will be required to
be enrolled in the course before
applying for registration and to
pass the course within 60 days
of registration. The
certification course is a
correspondence course that will
be delivered through the
Canadian Automotive Institute of
Georgian College in Barrie,
Ontario.
The certification course, the
first compulsory course for
dealers and salespeople in
Canada, was developed jointly by
OMVIC and the Canadian
Automotive Institute, with
considerable technical
assistance from dealer trade
associations (Used Car Dealers
Association of Ontario, and the
Ontario and Toronto Automobile
Dealers Associations).
Students who pass the course,
which costs $190, receive a
Certificate of Achievement and
will also be granted a
post-secondary credit by
Georgian College. The OMVIC
Course focuses on:
- Rights of consumers buying a
motor vehicle;
- Responsibilities of dealers and
salespeople; and
- The many laws that govern the
buying, selling and leasing of
motor vehicles (Motor Vehicle
Dealers Act, Business Practices
Act, Consumer Protection Act,
Sale of Goods Act, etc.)
“This course is only one of a
series of steps to increase
professionalism within the motor
vehicle dealer sector,” said Bob
Stephen, President of Agincourt
Infiniti Nissan and Chair of the
OMVIC Board of Directors. “It is
the first module of what we
expect will be a program of
on-going education for dealers
and their sales forces.”
It is anticipated that
approximately 6,000 prospective
new dealers and salespeople will
take the course each year. The
27,000 salespeople and dealers
currently registered with OMVIC
under the Motor Vehicle Dealers
Act will be encouraged, but not
immediately required, to take
the course.
“OMVIC is considering various
strategies to certify
“grandfathered” dealers and
salespeople after the course has
had time to mature,” Mr. Stephen
said. “We anticipate that, over
time, dealers will choose to
employ only certified
salespeople in their sales
forces.
According to Carl Compton,
OMVIC’s Executive Director and
Registrar, “We also intend to
devote more resources to
combating “curbsiders”
(unregistered sellers
masquerading as private
individuals to sell vehicles)
and to continue with consumer
education programs that
underscore the importance of
buying vehicles from registered
and certified dealers and
salespeople.”
All motor vehicle dealers and
sales staff in Ontario are
required to register with OMVIC.
Failure to register – called
curbsiding - can result in a
maximum fine of $100,000 for
companies and up to $25,000 and
one year in jail for
individuals.
The Ontario Motor Vehicle
Industry Council was delegated
responsibility for the
day-to-day administration of the
Motor Vehicle Dealers Act on
January 7, 1997. OMVIC is the
first industry self-managed
regulatory body created by the
provincial government. In its
first 30 months of operation,
OMVIC introduced a Code of
Ethics for Dealers, launched a
consumer awareness campaign
against “curbsiders,” introduced
tough new advertising standards,
and radically increased
enforcement activities.
OMVIC is solely financed by fees
paid by the motor vehicle
dealers and salespeople
registered under Ontario’s Motor
Vehicle Dealers Act.
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