Paul Burroughs Retires as Chair and President of the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council


Toronto, May 29, 2002 - Paul Burroughs, president of City Chev Olds in Hamilton, has retired as Chair of the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council. Mr Burroughs has been a member of the OMVIC board since May 1999 and served for two years as the council’s chair and president.

OMVIC, the motor vehicle dealer industry's self-management body, administers Ontario's Motor Vehicle Dealers Act on behalf of the provincial Consumer Ministry. Its mandate is to protect the rights of consumers, enhance the professionalism of the industry and to ensure fair, honest and open competition for registered motor vehicle dealers.

“Paul is not only an experienced automobile dealer but also one of the most vigorous advocates of consumer protection on our board,” said Carl Compton, OMVIC’s executive director. “He was uncompromising in his pursuit of new initiatives to make dealers more professional and increase consumer confidence in the industry.”

OMVIC is, for example, currently embarking on a unique program in which every motor vehicle dealer in the province will be inspected – the largest undertaking of its type in the thirty-year history of the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act, says Compton. “This is something that Paul championed and an example of the professionalism that he expects to see in the industry.”

Paul Burroughs has worked in the retail automotive industry since 1971. He became a new car dealer in Ingersoll, Ontario in 1988 and has been a new car dealer in Hamilton, Ontario since 1992. He has served on General Motors Dealer Council, on both Chevrolet and Goodwrench Service Dealer Marketing Associations. He was a director of the Hamilton-Burlington Automobile Dealer Association for 5 years and its president for 2 years. Mr. Burroughs is also a life member of the Association of Kinsmen Clubs and a current member of the Rotary Club of Ancaster.

“For many associations, the chair is just a figurehead,” says Carl Compton. “Anyone who knows Paul will know that he could never be just a figurehead. He was involved right from the first in setting policy. For Paul, OMVIC’s role of promoting dealer professionalism and protecting consumers is more than just words on paper – it is a personal crusade. We will miss his counsel, his enthusiasm and his guidance.”

Peter Eatson, president of Peterborough Volkswagen-Audi and an industry veteran of more than 40 years, succeeds Paul Burroughs as president and chair of OMVIC.