Key takeaways:
- Law would push manufacturers to create it more comfortable for customers to repair products.
- A right-to-repair rule would make it more comfortable for customers to repair everything from electronic gadgets to toasters themselves.
A ‘right-to-repair’ law proposed by environmental watchdog:
Quebec’s environmental watchdog, the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE), suggests the region adopt a so-called “right to repair” rule that would push manufacturers to create more accessible products for customers repair on their own.
Such a rule would empower customers to fix everything from toasters to barbecues to smartphones themselves, without having to spend an arm and a leg for manufacturers to fix them — or just trashing the things in frustration.
Jean-Philippe Roy knows well what sort of pleasure repairing something can get.
Also read: As Quebec proceeds to reduce COVID-19 constraints, the daily demise toll doubles
He’s one of the founders of Mon Atelier, a restoration café in Montreal’s Villeray neighborhood that presents workshops and support for individuals wishing to fix their household things.
“We don’t recognize how much, when we fix an object, we have an excellent dopamine discharge of happiness,” Roy briefed CBC in an interview. “You can’t guess the number of high fives that happen here, the cries of joy. It’s amazing how cool it is when you push a power button, and you’ve managed to fix something,” he stated. Source – cbc.ca
Roy stated the café has a success rate of approximately 80 percent in fixing things customers bring in, and he noted a right-to-repair rule would likely help grow that number.
