As you all know, we were not successful in delaying or cancelling the outrageous transaction tax increase from $12.50 to $22 to cover OMVIC’s bloated deficit which came into effect on September 1st.
The Ministry felt dealer opposition was muted, so that was one reason they did not intervene. Of course, dealers are too scared to raise their head above the trenches for fear of reprisals, too busy chasing a living or too cynical that anything they do will make a difference, but these arguments seem to fall on deaf ears.
Having said that, the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement (MPBSDP), the folks in charge of OMVIC, appear to be under new management, so maybe there is hope yet for a better tomorrow.
With a new Chief of Staff and a new Director of Stakeholder Management, they are trying to listen and understand, but actual results are still thin on the ground.
They do say they are engaging in a review of the spending and other practices of agencies, including OMVIC. This process started in late July. They said they are open to other funding models to support OMVIC operations. That might take some of the pressure off dealers.
Meanwhile, some Service Ontario offices are still refusing service to dealers, with little sign of progress on that front. We did agree to survey dealers as to their experience in hopes we might encourage some systemic improvements, but again, the proof is in the pudding, as they say. The Ministry say they will take a careful look at our results on issues such as dealer users of the brick and mortar licence offices, digital dealer users, dealer authorization letter process and concerns.
On OMVIC CPD, we still don’t know what it will cost or why it will take so long; OMVIC is not listening. The Ministry says they are working on answers here.
The Ministry is aware of our concerns about OMVIC’s attitude towards dealers as seen in communications such as was shared in our last Front Line. We have shared similar concerns in the past, but nothing changes. The Ministry says all the right things, but again, results matter.
On the Industry Advisory Committee front, we see no progress in getting the committee reformed to allow it to appoint its own Chair and set its own Agenda. Both issues are controlled by OMVIC and there is no indication that will change anytime soon, despite promises made by OMVIC in that regard.
As a result, the UCDA resigned from the IAC on September 2nd.
Finally, we still have no firm commitment for a meeting with the Minister and, at this point, it’s not clear what such a meeting would serve anyway.
Meanwhile, our feeling is, with all the time we save no longer having to engage in this way with OMVIC, we can focus on making better programs for our members on all the fronts we serve from education, to advocacy to services.
So it’s not all bad news after all!