right to repair
A man soldering a circuit board. (Photo by Blaz Erzetic on Pexels.com)

Once upon a time, when your toaster or blender broke, you took out your screwdriver, drove to the parts store and repaired it yourself. 

But over time, computers have been added to most appliances, making them “smart” products. If you don’t want to throw out a smart — but broken — appliance, your only choice is to ask the manufacturer to fix it. Not surprisingly, they prefer that you buy a new one.

Since 2021, the federal government has worked on legislation to restore your right to repair. Bill C-244, which is awaiting third reading in Parliament, would amend the Copyright Act to give consumers the right to repair their products. 

But experts aren’t sure the legislation will be effective.

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Hadassah Alencar is a bilingual journalist based near Montreal. She recently completed the journalism program at Concordia University, where she worked as a teaching assistant and became editor-in-chief...