The report in last week’s Times that only Canadian Tire in Kemptville is now licenced to perform e-tests on Vehicles in North Grenville has been met with angry comments on our Facebook page. Support for 416 Auto, and the way in which their contract was cancelled without notice after twenty years of excellent service, has been condemned as unfair to both that business and the entire driving community.
The sole authorised testing centre, Canadian Tire at Colonnade, has geared up to handle the increased demand for e-tests, and there is no longer the waiting time that was expected originally, according to Sam LeGoueff, Service Manager at CT. “We have five certified Drive Clean inspectors and three more techs will be certified next week. We are opened 7 days a week for Drive Clean.”
Sam told me that she had not been informed in advance about the change either, and it seems that the smaller shops in Prescott, Carleton Place, Brockville and surrounding area have had the same issue, with being locked out and not told anything. The policy at Drive Clean seems to be to restrict licences to the larger franchise operations, like CT, and end the service at the independent operators, like 416 Auto.
Sam has great sympathy for those who have had their contracts cancelled so abruptly, especially given the high cost of the equipment needed to provide e-test services. “I know from the costs here with our Drive Clean equipment it takes a lot of up keep and training, at the owners cost. We feel for 416 Tire and all the small shops effected by this. There was enough of a demand for everyone.”
As this appears to have been a policy of the Wynne Liberal Government, perhaps our local Minister for Municipal Affairs, Steve Clark, could look into this?
