Thought this was interesting that the big use aftermarket player was interested in fighting our govenment on BS legislation…
Get involved where you can 'casue they are slowly killing the scene.
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By Jason Tolleson
O, Canada!
SEMA Expands Legislative Efforts North of the Border
“We are excited by this effort to expand SEMA’s legislative presence into Canada,” said SAN Director Jason Tolleson.
Given the steady growth of the specialty-equipment market in Canada, as well as the increasing difficulties faced by automotive hobbyists due to the increased government scrutiny of vehicle modifications, SEMA recently expanded its legislative advocacy efforts to include the Parliament of Canada and the provincial governments. SEMA is undertaking this effort through its Government Affairs Office, with the support of the association’s grassroots advocacy group, the SEMA Action Network (SAN).
Working with Canadian car clubs and enthusiasts, SAN will supply these consumers with timely information on legislative and regulatory developments so that hobbyists and industry members will have the necessary information to weigh in on proposals that would directly affect the ability to customize vehicles. This is the first time the successful SAN program has operated beyond U.S. borders.
“Cooperative efforts by SEMA-member businesses, automotive hobbyists and car clubs that participate in the SEMA Action Network have resulted in numerous legislative successes across the United States,” said SEMA Vice President of Government Affairs Steve McDonald. “Canadian businesses and enthusiast groups face identical challenges. We are confident that by working with them, we can add our voice to the debate and help legislators identify reasonable and responsible solutions to the array of issues affecting the specialty-equipment industry and the automotive hobby.”
The SAN is a nationwide partnership between vehicle clubs, enthusiasts and members of the specialty auto-parts industry who want to protect their hobby. It was designed to help stamp out unfair legislative threats to the automotive hobby and pass favorable laws. In the United States, the SAN regularly rallies the support of 3,500-plus car clubs, thousands of individual contacts and 100-plus consumer automotive publications, with an estimated reach of 36 million enthusiasts nationwide. The organization also sends out action alerts to generate an abundance of responses to state and/or federal legislative actions and regulatory proposals and issues timely updates of these developments.
(From left to right) SEMA’s Jason Tolleson, government and public affairs manager; Linda Spencer, director of international and government relations; and Tom Myroniak, vice president of marketing and membership services, recently traveled to Canada.
To further its outreach efforts, SEMA exhibited at the Automechanika Canada Show in Toronto.
“One major difference between the U.S. and Canadian markets would definitely be their size,” said Peter Scott, whose company, National 4WD Centres, provided the light trucks for the SEMA booth.
“The U.S. market is 10 times the size of the Canadian market and much more developed in all aspects.”
However, Scott noted that the laws vary from province to province in Canada as much as they do state to state in the United States. Some provinces are more rigid than others, he said.
“We are excited by this effort to expand SEMA’s legislative presence into Canada,” said SAN Director Jason Tolleson and SEMA government and public afffairs manager. “In cooperation with the various organizations and clubs, we look forward to developing a platform to help protect the rights of the industry and enthusiast community across Canada.”
Canadian automotive hobbyists, car clubs and related businesses may now join the influential grassroots lobbying effort by registering online at www.semasan.com. Finding Allies to the North: SEMA Links With National Association of Antique Automobile Clubs of Canada Corporation to Support Canadian Efforts
In furthering its legislative activities in Canada, SEMA has actively engaged various industry and enthusiast organizations to develop its advocacy platform. Among those groups is the National Association of Antique Automobile Clubs of Canada Corporation (NAAACCC).
SEMA had a booth at the Automechanika show in Toronto and hosted a reception to honor SEMA-member manufacturers, distributors and service providers from Canada.
The organization had its beginnings in the early ’60s when a group of car enthusiasts contacted car clubs across Canada to join them in lobbying the federal government to remove the duty and taxes charged on older autos and parts imported from the United States. Forty years later, the NAAACCC monitors and speaks out against legislation affecting the auto hobby at the provincial and federal levels. Linking with the NAAACCC will supplement SEMA’s efforts to engage aftermarket businesses on legislative matters throughout the country.
Made up of car clubs whose interests range from pre-war antiques to musclecars and beyond, the NAAACCC’s mission is to encourage a cooperative working relationship with the government to prevent restrictive legislation and to promote and encourage the preservation of the automobile and its historic lore.
Tolleson recently traveled to Toronto to participate in the NAAACCC’s annual leadership meeting. With the recent expansion of the SAN’s legislative efforts into Canada, a working relationship between the two organizations will be of great benefit to the enthusiast community there. Tolleson was joined by SEMA Hall of Fame member Bob McJannett of Performance Improvements, who echoed the need for increased awareness and interaction between enthusiasts and the business community.
“SEMA’s expansion into Canada with the SAN program is well timed,” said McJannett.
“Currently, all across our country, governments are putting forth legislation that could be detrimental to the hobby.
We need the experience of an organization like SEMA to aid us in creating regulations and laws that will protect the future of the hobby. I hope that all Canadian businesses will join SEMA and encourage all Canadian enthusiasts to add their names to support the SEMA Action Network (SAN).”
In addition to working with SEMA on legislative lobbying efforts, the NAAACCC provides guidance to its member clubs on show judging and offers restoration tips and other hobby-related information. The group not only maintains close ties with its member clubs in Canada, but with other like-minded organizations from around the world, as well. The current provincial directors of the NAAACCC run the gamut from hobby-related business owners and founding members of provincial antique auto clubs to collectors of anything and everything automotive.
Through its Government Affairs Office, SEMA will continue to pursue other partnership opportunities throughout Canada in developing a proactive, pro-industry legislative program