9 minute read
STEERING ADVANCEMENTS IN THE AUTOMOTIVE RETAIL SECTOR
Meet the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council’s CEO and Registrar, Maureen Harquail
The Registrar staff
In Ontario's vibrant motor vehicle sales marketplace, buyers with diverse needs shop from one dealer to another, navigating through a landscape rich with nuance.
To ensure consumers are well-protected and informed of their rights through their purchasing journey, the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council (OMVIC) oversees the activities of all provincial dealers and salespersons. This government-delegated administrative authority has undergone several transformations as part of its modernization journey in recent years to keep up with the evolving marketplace, all of which have instilled a great sense of confidence for consumers and dealers alike.
At the forefront of this transformation stands CEO and Registrar, Maureen Harquail, KC, MPA, ICD.D. With over 20 years of leadership and a commitment to consumer protection, she has elevated this regulator's presence and reputation.
“For OMVIC, it has been a long and steady journey,” Harquail says. “Ultimately, you have to embrace changes and have a public and consumer vision to ensure that, as operators, we are doing what needs to be done."
Professional start
Harquail’s career in licensing and professional regulation began after gaining extensive experience in the legal profession.
After earning her honours Bachelor of Laws from the University of Wales, Cardiff Law School, she embarked on her professional journey as a practising lawyer in Alberta. Her work quickly steered her toward environmental law, and she joined Alberta’s Department of Justice as a barrister and solicitor, special prosecutions liaison in 1996.
Harquail’s work in environmental law exposed her to regulatory nuances of the legislation, which she immensely enjoyed. “After I left the provincial Department of Justice, I became a prosecutor with the federal Department of Justice responsible for environmental and regulatory prosecutions,” she says. “I eventually came back to Ontario, where I was raised, to work as General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer for the Ontario Racing Commission, which showed me the day-to-day requirements and obligations of a regulator.”
Harquail's experience in the horse racing world underscored the importance of integrity and adherence to industry standards. She attributes this understanding as a key factor in joining OMVIC as COO and Deputy Registrar in 2018.
Embracing change
Harquail became OMVIC’s CEO and Registrar in 2022, when modernization efforts were already in full swing. After reviewing recommendations from an external efficiency study, OMVIC incorporated several structural improvements into their operations.
“As a regulator, we oversee over 8,000 dealers and 30,000 salespeople involved in motor vehicle sales in Ontario,” Harquail explains. “When the findings from the efficiency study were released in 2018, as well as the Auditor General of Ontario’s Value for Money Audit in 2021, we knew what we had to do to modernize our operations.”
In response to the Auditor General’s report, OMVIC accelerated its strategic plans and successfully implemented 90 per cent of the recommendations directed towards OMVIC alone and fully implemented 81 per cent of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts recommendations specifically directed toward it. Harquail notes that a key improvement was diversifying the composition of its board of directors.
“Historically, we had a board of 12, with nine dealers and three ministerial representatives, which wasn’t a modern governance structure since industry was the majority at the table,” she says. "In 2023, the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery required OMVIC to decrease its number of board members from twelve to nine, with no more than one-third of board members to be drawn from the motor vehicle industry. OMVIC was required to ensure that all board members possess a positive orientation to proactive consumer protection initiatives and to create an industry advisory council. Now, we have a board of nine total members, comprised of three members from industry, three ministerial appointees, and three public members. This was incredibly important for me as CEO, as a streamlined approach with a public and consumer vision ensures that we as the operators are doing what needs to get done.”
Harquail emphasizes OMVIC's other proactive enhancements including a comprehensive digital overhaul that introduced a new user-friendly website and a customer relationship management (CRM) system.
The Consumer Automotive Regulatory System (CARS), OMVIC's new CRM, boosts departmental efficiency significantly. Harquail notes that this key advancement not only expedites reporting and application processes but also enhances support and interaction with dealers, salespersons, and consumers.
Additionally, the appointment of the regulator's first Chief Consumer Protection Officer and an updated registrant fee structure helped mark a key step in upholding the regulator's mission to protect Ontarians, Harquail explains.
Consumer protection first
Above all, Harquail emphasizes the importance of maintaining a steadfast focus on safeguarding consumers as they make their second largest purchase.
“Consumer protection and enhancing registrant professionalism are our top priorities,” Harquail says. “It’s so important for all of us at OMVIC that we support the consumers of Ontario. Despite the challenges in this constantly changing industry, it’s critical that we quickly and efficiently inform consumers about all protections available to them if they choose to purchase a vehicle."
Harquail details OMVIC’s day-to-day and multifaceted approach to fulfill their consumer protection mandate which includes using TV, podcasts, paid media and social media campaigns and mystery shopping programs. These mystery shop programs are specifically designed to ensure dealers comply with regulations concerning all-in price advertising, with more detailed follow-ups carried out for those who don’t comply.
Harquail notes that in some instances, OMVIC’s Motor Vehicle Dealers Compensation Fund (MVDCF) may offer reimbursement to consumers who have verifiably suffered financial loss from a motor vehicle purchase, lease, or consignment transaction. Last year, the MVDCF assisted 128 consumers and provided over $800,000 in compensation.
Leadership in enforcement
OMVIC’s enforcement division actively collaborates with provincial and federal agencies to protect consumers from deceptive sales tactics. In 2023, 2,471 inspections were conducted, which resulted in 1,595 charges laid. Harquail says that OMVIC goes above and beyond in its enforcement efforts to protect car buyers from illegality during the car purchasing process.
The regulator has collaborated with organizations such as Toronto Crime Stoppers to combat various underhanded activities, including illegal motor vehicle sales, theft, and RE-VINing, which refers to fraudulently changing a vehicle’s Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and switching it with another VIN to create a false vehicle identity.
“In February, the federal government held the National Summit on Combatting Auto Theft, and we had a seat at the table to provide significant suggestions on what can be done from a federal perspective,” Harquail says. “We’ve continued to communicate and share fraud reduction ideas with the Minister of Transportation and other provincial ministries that can really change their processes, so that fraudsters are limited in their ability to illegally transfer vehicles.”
Confidence in regulatory influence
Harquail acknowledges that consumers who aren’t in an immediate rush to buy a car may not be aware of the regulator’s presence. Nevertheless, she notes that it’s crucial for OMVIC to stay top-of-mind as the go-to resource for future car buyers. Every year, OMVIC conducts market research on how both first-time and seasoned car buyers gather information so that OMVIC understands how they can protect and educate consumers.
“We do this to discover what sort of impact we’ve had annually with everyone across the province, which allows us to review how people are receiving our messages as a regulator,” Harquail says. “The question then becomes: how do we engage with people in their daily lives when they are beginning the car-buying process? Just over the last year, we’ve seen an increase in consumer awareness of OMVIC, as well as an increase in the awareness of the all-in-price advertising laws that protects consumers. This has us excited about what we have planned to strategically enhance consumer awareness and continually reach those individuals.”
Reflecting on the recent past, Harquail describes 2023 as a transformative and foundational year for OMVIC. She anticipates that the next five to ten years will showcase the effectiveness of the regulator’s advancements.
“To become a leading regulator, we’ve spent the last six years laying the foundation for our future to make a difference on the consumer protection side,” she says. “We are now there and our next step as an organization is to develop and implement our strategic goals, following the planning process.”
Looking to the remainder of 2024 and ahead to 2025, Harquail says she remains most excited about anticipated regulatory changes. In April 2024, the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery (ministry) opened a consultation to consider potential changes to modernize the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act, 2002. If implemented, these changes would reduce regulatory burden, improve OMVIC’s regulatory efficiency, enhance consumer protection, and address other sector-specific issues.
A passionate advocate for continuing education, she’s also cautiously optimistic about the proposal for the development of a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program with the goal of enhancing professionalism in the industry and making registrants more accountable. The ministry is proposing to require all registrants under the MVDA to complete mandatory continuing education prior to applying to renew their registration. In British Columbia, the Vehicle Sales Authority requires all licensees to take mandatory continuing education courses. In Ontario, several other regulated sectors require registrants to complete continuing education courses as a condition of renewing their registration.
“The industry as a whole has an image problem, and while a CPD program will not solve every image issue, this can go a long way in changing the industry and go a long way in improving the perception of it,” Harquail expresses. “There are other key regulatory changes that can make a big difference to consumers in Ontario, and I look forward to embracing them.”
