Manitoba bill would ban suppliers from keeping repair parts private

The Manitoba Legislature in Winnipeg, Saturday, August 30, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government introduced what's known as a right-to-repair bill Wednesday, aimed at ensuring consumers have options when they need to fix their vehicles, household appliances and other items.

The bill would require manufacturers and sellers of consumer products to ensure that any parts, tools, software and manuals needed to repair the items are publicly available.

Mintu Sandhu, the minister for consumer protection, told reporters he recently had his truck break down and found out he had few options.

"I took (it) to a garage and the garage said, 'Sorry, I don't have the software, I cannot fix it,'" Sandhu said Wednesday.

"So I had to send it to the dealership to get it fixed."

Having more repair options will keep prices down, Sandhu said. The bill is also aimed at extending the life of consumer goods by ensuring products are not quickly made obsolete by being unfixable.

The bill is based on a law recently passed by the Quebec government.

The Quebec law has raised concerns among some retailers about the burden they might face in ensuring parts remain available.

The federal government passed a similarly themed law in 2024 around high-tech goods and copyright provisions. The law allows consumers and repair workers to bypass digital locks in order to make software fixes on vehicles, refrigerators and more.

Details of Manitoba's plan, such as what kind of goods will be covered and how long parts will have to remain available, are to come later.

The Opposition Progressive Conservatives said people have been calling for this kind of protection for some time, and the bill should include items such as farm machinery.

"I was ... hearing from those within the agriculture industry this is something that's been an ask and a call from the (agriculture) industry for many years already," Tory legislature member Konrad Narth said.

"And it's only becoming more of a hurdle and increasing the costs and reducing the affordability of maintaining equipment on farms."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2026.

Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press