Toyota ’s top officials have already faced off against U.S. lawmakers, and now the Japanese automaker is taking heat from our neighbors to the north. Canadian lawmakers claim Toyota waited too long to inform government officials of its safety problems and, as a result, are now considering more stringent regulations.
Although only a fraction of Toyota’s 8.5 million recalled vehicles are registered in Canada – about 270,000 in all – Canadian lawmakers believe that Toyota dragged its feet in informing the government and the public of possible safety defects.
Toyota told Transport Canada of its pedal defect on January 21, the same days the automaker officially announced a recall for the problem. However, Toyota knew the problem existed days before.
“OK, you’ve got a serious safety problem, you’re already talking with your supplier about redesigning the faulty gas pedal, and nobody told Transport Canada or NHTSA (U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) for that matter, until after a recall was issued on January 21. That’s what you are telling us,” said Jeff Watson, a member of Parliament from the governing Conservative Party.
Although Canada is upset with the way Toyota handled its safety recall, Toyota actually acted well within Canada’s regulations. As a result, Canada is now considering a new law that would require automakers to a report problem when first discovered, rather than waiting until engineers find the root cause for the problem. “If we have to raise the bar, make the law tougher with respect to disclosure, that’s something we’re prepared to do,” Transport Minister John Baird said.
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