About 7 years ago the Alberta government tried to pass a similar
law. We called it the "curber" legislation. Basically it stated that
no-one
could make ANY form of mechanical repairs unless they were licensed for
that type of repair. It went so far as to provide a 1-800 number so you
could snitch on your neighbor. You would not have been able to "legally"
change your flat tire at the side of the road, or add washer fluid for
your wipers!
This law was backed by the Alberta Dealers Association. They
were
having a tough time getting people in for repair work, losing business
to the backyard mechanics. Hmmmm...should I pay 75-80 dollars an hour to
a dealer's shop that doesn't really care about me or my car, or pay 20
dollars an hour to "Joe" down the alley who will make sure I drive away
happy?
Our club, the Foothills Street Rod Association, got wind of this
just
before it was to rammed through legislature. We started a phone
campaign, and contacted someone from every single club we could get a
hold of in the province. Some of the people were very apathetic (typical
Canadian attitude), and wouldn't believe there could be any impact on
the hobby. The majority got on our side, and started blasting their
representatives. This started the ball rolling, and there were a handful
of public meetings with the government.
Because of our swift action, within 2 1/2 weeks of our rather
panicked
campaign, the current government threw out the bill. It got even more
interesting after that, but it's a very long story. Let's just say that
sometimes we have to get involved politically if we want to save our
hobby from the idiots that run the counrty/state/province.
So, Craig, please don't think the list is pushing certain
political
"leanings". Sometimes we have to. You would not believe the lengths we
went to to insure it wouldn't happen to us again.
I'll step off my soapbox now!
Alan Gingles
1948 Chevy 1314 daily driver because I can!
http://www.nucleus.com/~agingles
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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