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Dear member,
On April 21, 1998, OMVIC
submitted to the Minister of
Consumer & Commercial Relations
its first Annual Report. In
accordance with the Safety and
Consumer Standards
Administration Act, The
Honourable David Tsubouchi
tabled OMVIC’s Annual Report in
the provincial legislature on
June 25, 1998.
Highlights from our first annual
report include the following:
Through OMVIC’s phantom dealer
project, every registered dealer
was subject to a site visit
resulting in the imposition of
1,200 trade freezes;
OMVIC’s investigators laid
charges against as many
individuals and companies as
were charged in the previous
four years combined (most
charges were laid under the
Motor Vehicle Dealers Act or the
Business Practices Act);
These charges resulted in 106
convictions, 79 of which were
related to curbsiding;
There were seven times as many
“Registrar’s Actions” in OMVIC’s
first year of operation as in
1996 (Registrar’s Actions
include refusals to register,
revocations, imposition of terms
and conditions, etc.);
A Code of Ethics was approved
and distributed to all dealers;
OMVIC has been working closely
with the Canadian Automotive
Institute in the development of
a certification course for
dealer and salesperson
applicants for registration
(implementation is targeted for
1999);
Significant progress was made
towards the development of
Standards of Practice, a
dealer-administered disciplinary
process, and new advertising
guidelines (See enclosed
Marketing Standards).
If you would like to receive a
copy of OMVIC’s first Annual
Report, please contact us by:
Fax at 416-226-3208 or
Visit our website at
http://www.omvic.on.ca .
IMPORTANT INFORMATION!
Enclosed you will find OMVIC’s
new marketing Standards and an
introductory letter from OMVIC’s
Chair, John Carmichael. These
Standards replace the
Advertising Guidelines
introduced in 1991. Please
familiarize yourself with these
new standards in order to ensure
that your advertising is in
compliance.
THESE NEW STANDARDS COME INTO
EFFECT ON OCTOBER 1, 1998
OMVIC intends to rigorously
enforce the standards, and we
invite your help in policing
ads. Please refer to the
attached for further information
about how you can help.
Also enclosed is information
about a service that OMVIC is
offering to dealers who may be
considering expanding their
operations by purchasing an
existing dealership. With the
written approval of the dealer
being purchased, OMVIC will
conduct a due diligence
inspection reporting on a number
of key factors of importance to
the purchaser. For further
information, please review the
enclosed brochure.
As ever, if you have any
questions or concerns, I’d like
to hear from you.
Sincerely yours,
Carl Compton,
Registrar,
Motor Vehicle Dealers Act
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