COLLISION REPAIR INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION URGES CHANGES IN ENVIRONMENT CANADA PROPOSALS

Federal government is recommending significant changes in auto refinish coatings

December 15, 2006

The Hamilton District Autobody Repair Association (HARA) has been involved with stakeholder discussions with coatings firms, regulators and others relating to the proposal to reduce the VOC content in auto refinishing coatings product.  The association has held a number of open opportunities for discussion with the industry including a presentation on September 30 at the National Trades Centre (Direct Energy Centre), Exhibition Place and a recent workshop in London on November 29.  Over 125 industry attendees learned at the London workshop what impact these proposals may generate at their shops and how best to operate an environmentally friendly repair shop.  Further industry workshops are planned in Halton region in February and Toronto in March 2007. 

Anthony Nigro, President of the non-profit trade association said, " Our association is very active in environmental issues in auto refinish and we continue to try and assist member shops to meet or exceed environmental compliance requirements. To date, we have helped over 500 shops with their environmental permitting requirements using our simplified and much cheaper streamlined application format."

HARA has submitted a stakeholder brief to Environment Canada relating to proposed VOC emission reduction regulations in auto refinish coatings product.  They have identified 10 major recommendations. 

They are:

1) That a 2-kiloton VOC emission reduction can be achieved through voluntary measures

2) That should regulation be deemed appropriate, a stop manufacture date of January 1, 2009 and a stop sale date of Dec 31, 2010

3) Grants or incentives be made available to shops to offset changeover costs

4) A human resources package to assist in job placement and retraining be initiated for shop personnel that are made unemployed

5) Insurance companies only pay auto refinish claims to facilities that are environmentally compliant

6) An environmental fund be established with money generated by coatings firms to provide changeover funding for special clients

7) Mobile operators/applicators not be exempted from the regulations

8) Aerosol containers not be exempted from the regulations

9) Environment Canada set aside funds for enforcement particularly falsified use issues and smugglers

10) A co-operative effort with provincial governments to provide "template" permitting and ease of use and costs in new permitting.

For further information on the submission please call
1-866-309-4272 or info@ciia.com

For information on Environment Canada's plans, copies of presentations and draft documents, please see www.autobodyhelp.ca

HAMILTON AREA SHOPS HIT THE $60.00 DOOR RATE LEVEL

December 11, 2006

Shop labour rates for Hamilton, Ontario collision repair shops continue to grow upwards, identifying a trend that Mitchell International shows in their last report.

Signs are now posted in some large company owned shops in the City showing a customer labour rate charge of $60.00 per hour for body, frame and refinish labour and a $28.00 per hour rate for paint and coatings materials

In June 2005, the local trade association, HARA, posted a series of recommended door labour rates that shops were under no compulsion to follow or observe. That rate was identified at $55.00 per hour and is available for review at:

http://www.ciia.com/provinces /ontario/pricingrec.html

Labour door rates continue to increase across Ontario. A November 2006 rate survey in the Windsor areas showed a door labour rate between $56.90 and $58.90 per hour.

A number of large repair facility are dropping their discounted DRP insurance programs because of low referral numbers of cars been sent to them, and their functional door rates rise once the discounts are removed. Many shops have take this action to end the prospect of having to offer State Farm Insurance, under their new program, further discounts to match those discounts being supplied to low-volume insurers.

Also coming soon is an energy surcharge to help cover the shop's expenses in honouring the increasingly higher electric and natural gas costs.

For more information on the energy surcharge, please inquire with your local collision repair trade association at
1-866-309-4272 or info@ciia.com

WINDSOR AREA SHOPS ACCESS PRICING RATE RESULTS SURVEY ONLINE

Shop marketplace survey for PACRA now available to all shops

December 10, 2006

A third-party marketplace survey authorized by the local collision repair trade association is now available for all Windsor area shops.

Twenty collision repair facility owners attended the initial presentation on items found in the study including door labour rates, frame and paint rates, paint cap prices, DRP involvement, the level of customer pay activity and more.

Also covered in the marketplace survey and now available for any shop to review were volume levels, discount rates, training information and concerns for the future.

The survey found door rates rising in the Windsor Ontario marketplace with the average labour rate for auto body at $56.90 per hour and the average frame rate two dollars higher.

Paint re-imbursement rates were higher than in southern Ontario but arbitrary paint caps by insurers restricted sales.

To view the Windsor shop study, please see:

http://www.ciia.com/provinces /ontario/pacra.html

Non-association members should call 1 866 309 4272 for more information (see headlines)

Environment Minister Rona Ambrose to Unveil Action on Mercury

OTTAWA, December 13, 2006 - The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of the Environment, today confirmed that Canada's New Government will require vehicle manufacturers and steel mills to implement pollution prevention plans to ensure mercury switches are removed from automobiles before the vehicles are recycled.

This action is expected to prevent the release of as much as ten tonnes of mercury into the environment, especially into the air, over the next ten years. Mercury is a highly toxic substance that can have serious effects on human health and the environment, particularly because it can travel through the atmosphere and be deposited far from its origins. It can bioaccumulate in living organisms, especially fish, and is responsible for 98% of fish consumption advisories for Canadian water bodies.

"By taking firm action to address this harmful pollutant before it gets into the environment, we are once again showing Canadians that we are serious about cleaning up the environment and protecting human health," Minister Ambrose said. "Recovering switches is an effective and relatively inexpensive way to significantly reduce mercury emissions. By working with industry, other orders of government and non-governmental organizations, we are showing that it is possible to achieve tangible, sustainable results." (see headlines)

Keystone Automotive intends to contest preliminary ruling on Ford patent complaint

Keystone Automotive Industries, Inc. has stated that the company and other respondents intend to vigorously contest portions of a preliminary ruling issued on December 4, 2006, by an administrative law judge of the United States International Trade Commission in a complaint initiated by Ford Global Technologies, LLC against the company, another distributor and certain manufacturers.

The judge ruled that seven of ten design patents directed to parts for the Ford F-150 truck were enforceable and infringed Ford's design patents, but agreed with Keystone and the other respondents that three patents are invalid due to Ford's prior public use of the designs.

The judge did not accept the respondents' further arguments that Ford's prior public use and other conduct also render the remaining seven patents invalid and unenforceable, and that even if valid, none of the ten patents is infringed. Consequently, he ruled that the importation of automotive parts covered by these seven patents violates Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended.

This ruling will be reviewed by the International Trade Commission, which must issue its ruling on or before March 5, 2007.

"We believe the decision invalidating three of Ford's patents is correct, but incomplete and that all of the patents are invalid, unenforceable, and not infringed. We, therefore, intend to vigorously pursue our appeal rights," said Richard Keister, president and chief executive officer of Keystone Automotive.

The seven patents in question cover 13 parts sold by Keystone, which represents less than 0.1% of sales on a trailing 12-month basis. However, Keystone cautions that, depending upon the nature and extent of any adverse future rulings, Ford and other automobile manufacturers may attempt to assert similar allegations based upon design patents on a significant number of parts for other models, which over time could have a material adverse impact on the entire aftermarket collision parts industry.

Keystone Automotive Industries, Inc. distributes its products primarily to collision repair shops. Its product lines consist of automotive body parts, bumpers, and remanufactured alloy wheels, as well as paint and other materials used in repairing a damaged vehicle.

(see headlines)

Record Numbers Participating In Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program

HAMILTON, ON, Dec. 11 /CNW/ - The government is helping record numbers of high school students start their formal skilled trades training while still in high school, Chris Bentley, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, announced today.

"The McGuinty government is on the side of Ontario families who want their sons and daughters to find opportunity," said Bentley during a visit to Waterdown District High School. "That's why we're helping high school students who want a career in the skilled trades get started on their apprenticeships."

Offered through Ontario's secondary school system, the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program provides cooperative education and workplace-based experiences in the skilled trades to high school students.

A record 24,000 students are expected to take part in the program in 2006-07. This is almost double the 12,700 participants in 2002-03. More than 19,000 employers participated last year.

The announcement was made at Waterdown District High School in the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board where funding of $148,751 will support approximately 950 students and 550 employers in 2006-07.

"It's clear from research that a one-size-fits-all approach to education results in some students being left behind," said Ted McMeekin, MPP for Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough -Aldershot. "OYAP is providing an excellent link in helping students consider and make successful career choices. Thanks to our community partners, our young people have more opportunities and choice and
that has to be good for all of us."

As more students go into this program, the government is getting closer to meeting its commitment to raise the number of annual apprenticeship registrations to 26,000 annually in 2007-08.

"Many of the co-op students that we have mentored have been a definite asset to my business, and I know its been a positive experience for them too. It gives them some direction, many stay in the trade, and a few have even gone on to start their own business," said Al Baker, owner of Al's Autoservice in Waterdown. "We need this program in place to get people into the trades because there is a personnel shortage already and we don't want it to get worse."

"Our government is committed to reaching every student with learning opportunities that match their interests and ambitions," said Education Minister Kathleen Wynne. "Workplace learning provides an excellent opportunity for many students to acquire the skills and knowledge they need to graduate high school and build a promising career."

The government is also working on other initiatives to provide
opportunities for Ontarians, including:

        -   Investing $6.2 billion more in postsecondary education and training by 2009-10 - the most significant multi-year investment in Ontario's higher education system in 40 years
    -   Investing $127 million this year in Employment Ontario's Job Connect services to link employers with both youth and adults, including three new centres with a special focus on helping newcomers.

"Investing in apprenticeship benefits everyone," said Bentley. "Through the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program, we're working to make sure Ontario's apprenticeship system provides Ontario with the skilled workforce needed to compete in today's economy."

For more information about the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program, contact Employment Ontario, online at www.ontario.ca/employmentontario , or by calling 1-800-387-5656.

(see headlines)

I-CAR® AWARDS PLATINUM DESIGNATION AUTOMATICALLY EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2007

HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL - December 4, 2006 - As an added benefit to customers, all industry professionals with at least 10 tested I-CAR points will automatically earn the I-CAR Platinum Individual® designation as of January 1, 2007. No application or fee will be necessary from January 1 forward. This benefit applies not only to those individuals who will qualify for the Platinum designation for the first time, but also for those renewing after January 1, 2007.

"Successfully completing I-CAR training not only brings an individual knowledge, but it also brings an industry-recognized status," explained Rick Tuuri, I-CAR Director of Business Development and North American Operations. "I-CAR is pleased to help ensure that all who qualify for the elite Platinum IndividualT designation receive the recognition that they worked so hard to achieve. Eligible professionals can now proudly display their designation without any additional effort on their part."

All who qualify for the Platinum designation will be sent a certificate and letter automatically explaining their Platinum status, as well as the ongoing training requirements needed to maintain the designation.

For assistance, please call customer care at 800.422.7872 or log onto the I-CAR web site at www-i-car.com for additional information.

I-CAR, founded in 1979, is an international not-for-profit training organization dedicated to improving the quality, safety, and efficiency of auto collision repair for the ultimate benefit of consumers. (see headlines)

Lynne Yelich announces funding for skilled trades in automotive sector

SASKATOON-Lynne Yelich, Parliamentary Secretary to the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, today announced that Canada's new Government is providing funding for two projects that will support skilled trades in the automotive industry. Speaking at the Saskatchewan Association of Automotive Repairers Fall Conference, Mrs. Yelich recognized the government's collaborative work done with the automotive industry and the Canadian Automotive Repair and Service (CARS) Council.

"These two CARS projects can help to ensure the automotive sector has the highly skilled technicians it needs," said Mrs. Yelich. "Canada's new Government has been working to support the trades, including the introduction in our 2006 budget of a new job creation tax credit, an apprenticeship incentive grant, and a tools tax deduction."

Today's funding announcement is for the following two projects:

• The CARS Essential Skills Phase II project, which began August 1 of this year, will receive approximately $1.5 million over four years to develop and produce resources and tools to evaluate, improve or strengthen essential skills for five occupations in the automotive repair and service sector. The project will help participants learn or upgrade essential skills such as document use and numeracy, and be more conscious of the importance of continuous learning; and,

• The CARS Advanced Technology Training project, which also began August 1 of this year, will receive about $500,000 over three years to improve access to training within the workplace and within the education/training community to support the sector's skills upgrading needs related to hybrid vehicle technology.

Funded jointly through the Government of Canada's Sector Council Program, these projects will help all partners in the automotive repair and service sector-manufacturers, educators, employers, workers, automotive repair shops, automotive dealers and associations-to anticipate skill needs and stay ahead of the curve. (see headlines)

The July 1999 jury verdict of Khazzaka (operating as E.S.M. Auto Body) v. Commercial Union Assurance Company of Canada was reviewed by the Ontario Court of Appeal and the order against the insurer stands. Following an eleven-day trial, the jury allowed the respondent's claim of $157,000 for fire damage to his auto body shop and, further, awarded $200,000 punitive damages against the insurer for its conduct in defending the action on the sole basis of arson. The trial judge subsequently fixed costs at an additional $100,000. The insurer challenged the justification for punitive damages and said the amount is, in any event, excessive. The judge did not agree and dismissed the appeal.

Mr. Khazzaka's auto body shop is located on Highway 31 in the Village of Metcalfe and comprises two bays separated by a wall, each accommodating two vehicles. On September 6, 1997 Mr. Khazzaka was doing body work on one of the vehicles in bay number one. On his evidence he was in the process of welding a piece of metal in the area of the rear rocker panel, using a spot welder and an acetylene-oxygen torch. When he lit the torch he saw a flame inside the wheel well area of the vehicle and immediately proceeded to bay number two to obtain a fire extinguisher. When he returned to bay one there was an explosion and an extensive fire that caused burn injuries to him and largely destroyed the shop.

The Fire Chief, his staff, and the Ontario Provincial Police thoroughly investigated the incident, and no one suspected arson. It was concluded that the open flame ignited something such as a rag or fumes, that this spread to other combustibles in the area, and that the perceived explosion may have been a tire bursting in the heat. They agreed that the shop's version of events was consistent with their findings. The insurer denied coverage. The insurer retained the services of an independent adjuster and an experienced fire investigator. The trial judge held that there had been sufficient evidence for the jury to conclude that the investigation had been conducted in bad faith.

In a summary provided by Guild, Yule and Company, the August 14, 2002 Court of Appeal judgement (Khazzaka o/a E.S.M. Auto Body v. CGU Insurance Company of Canada), the Court acknowledged the right of Insurers to investigate suspicious cases, though, this was clearly, it felt, a case in which the Insurer had crossed the line.
(see headlines)

Dofasco donates $1m to Mohawk centre

By Steve Arnold
The Hamilton Spectator
(Dec 1, 2006)

Plans for a new skills training centre at Mohawk College got a huge kick-start yesterday from Dofasco.

The steel giant donated $1 million to the $32 million Mohawk Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship Research, Resources and Training Institute.

Dofasco president Jacques Chabanier said the donation, the largest corporate gift in the college's 40-year history, is a down payment on the cost of solving a serious problem for industry.

"The skilled trades shortage is critical and it could end the sustainability of our industry," Chabanier said.

Dofasco draws 90 per cent of its skilled trades apprentices from the college.

The institute, to be located at Mohawk's Stoney Creek campus, is part of a strategy to double skilled trades enrolment to 1,000 and to increase the number of apprenticeship students by 35 per cent to 3,571.

Dofasco's donation brings support for the project to $6.7 million.

Early backers include the provincial and city governments as well as $2.1 million from the Gerald Marshall Fund -- the largest single donation ever made to Mohawk. That fund, named for a local businessman who died earlier this year, is devoted to the redevelopment of Mohawk's Stoney Creek campus and in particular the truck and coach apprenticeship program.

sarnold@thespec.com

905-526-3496 (see headlines)

TEN THOUSAND DOLLAR REPAIR COSTS $96,000

Failure to obtain customer authorization costly

When a Hamilton lawyer's 2-year-old BMW was involved in a collision in September, he never thought that it would cost over $96,000.

In early September a Hamilton lawyer's 5 series BMW was involved in an accident.

The car was towed to a towing compound and he was supplied with a rental car. Ten days after the claim was made, the appraiser arrived at the yard and estimated damage at about $10,000. The insurer advised the lawyer that they would be taking the car to a repair facility for repair. A repair order was signed for the amount of the estimate. There was no discussion of writing off the vehicle.

Eight weeks later, the lawyer's wife received a call from the repair shop, advising her to pick up the vehicle. The bill was over $26,000. When she took the keys and left with the car, it was not drivable, swerving and pulling to one side with loud noises. She returned the car to the repairer and found out that it had not been properly road-tested. She left the car at the repair facility.

The lawyer called the insurer, and demanded a total loss cheque for the car's guaranteed replacement value of $70,000 as he had never signed or authorized the additional repairs. Several days later the insurer agreed to give him a cheque for $70,000. The repair facility now has a $26,000 bill against a BMW that cannot be driven safely, and may not be paid for.

Please note-The owner of a vehicle, prior to the repair being commenced, must authorize any repairs on a vehicle and once authorized, the repair bill can not exceed the estimate by more than 10 percent.

For more information on the Consumer Protection Act, please see;

http://www.ciia.com/provinces/ontario/reg.html

A poster explaining the customer's rights in a collision repair is mandatory to post in the customer waiting area. For a copy for your shop please contact info@ciia.com
(see headlines)

ACCOLADES CONTINUE ROLLING IN to the National Automotive Trades Association (NATA) a month following its successful youth-oriented event to promote employment opportunities in our industry. Presented on Friday, September 29, 2006, NATA Career Day Forum was the opening attraction at the CarFixWORLD trade show in Toronto. The event was organized by the national association's Ontario affiliates, AARO and the Hamilton district Autobody Repair Association (HARA).

"Thanks again for a good show...the kids are still talking about it," wrote Ron Ruttan, the Limestone District School Board's coordinator for the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP). His expression of appreciation was included in a November 2nd message to NATA delegate John Norris. The photo shown here was one of several attached to his e-mail.

Norris, the manager of HARA and chief organizer of the Career Day Forum for NATA, said Ruttan's comment was one of many post-show accolades he's received from people connected to Ontario's secondary school system. The feedback from teachers and school board personnel has all been extremely positive, he said. Norris and AARO executive director Bill Burkimsher are agreed this good news must be shared with the CarFixWORLD show exhibitors.

"We've said it before, but it bears repeating how much we appreciate the 100+ suppliers who helped showcase our industry as an exciting career option for young people. They had their exhibits open for an extra day to do that," observed Burkimsher, "and we think that was really generous of them."(see headlines)

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO GET $$$$ FOR UNUSED PARTS, VEHICLES AND SUPPLIES?

Still have that old bumper, hood or part that the supplier won't take back?

Looking for someone to take that extra stock of supplies off your hands?

How about selling that vehicle that has been taking up space on your lot for far too long?

Are you tired of spending the majority of your profits on advertising?

If you have answered yes to any or all of these questions you should contact us immediately.  Our Collision Repair Industry website had over 364,000 in October 2006.  For as little as $25.00/month, a third of the cost of advertising in the local newspapers, the customers you're looking for will see your items.

Contact 1-866-309-4272 or info@ciia.com for more information on how you can place an ad with us.  An ad THAT WILL BE SEEN .

(see headlines)