This just blows my mind, how our Canadian Gov't can make a simple thing so complicated. Read what I wrote to the Minister of Transportation and a few of their offices. This is my story of trying to get the message to our Canadian Gov't to bring Recaro to Canada....
Message:
To whom it may concern,
I am hoping that you will be able to forward this message to the right person. I can assure you that I am representing quite a few Canadian parents out there that would like an answer to this question. Most of these Canadian parents are members of a very popular child car seat forum on the internet called http://www.car-seat.org/
Here is the issue. One of the most popular, safest car seats on the market today is made by a company called Recaro. Some of you might know that compant name, because some of your cars have seats made by this company. They also make racing seats, as well as child safety seats. They have some of the highest standards in the world for safety.
Their seats are available in the US and in Europe, for some odd reason, not available in Canada. So I did some investigation, and spoke with some of the folks over at Recaro.
It turns out that the cost that this company has to incur to have their child safety seats tested in Canada are so astronomical, that it's not even worth it for them to make the seats available here. Further more, the testing standards in Canada are so complex, that the time it takes for these seats to be tested and approved are so long, that by the time that takes place, the car seat is already outdated by a replacement model. According to Recaro, even with these most difficult challenges, they have still tried to approach our government to make an effort to have their child car safety seats tested and approved for the Canadian market.
I strongly believe that the challenges and delays has more to do with politics and red tape than the actual testing issues. This is where you guys come in. Why all the trouble for child car seats made by Recaro, and why is the Canadian Government giving them a hard time, both financially as well as timing, to get the seats approved for Canada?
Here is the icing on the cake. I am one of those Canadians that uses logic. If the child seat attaches into the car's LATCH system, works with the 5 point harness, and is crach test approved within the US, then that's good enough for me. This is a common feeling among those wanting to buy these Recaro seats.
So I contacted Recaro to find some US dealers, and planned to pick one up in the US, and "smuggle" it into Canada. I couldn't believe what they told me. My purchase would put their company at risk, as the Canadian Government would pursue them with a $100,000 fine per seat sold to a Canadian. You have got to be kidding me. So now they are terrified at the idea of a Canadian walking into one of their retailers and walking out with one of their child safety seats. This is a real joke now. They have warned all of their US retailers NOT to deal with, or ship any of their child car seats to a Canadian. I would imagine that there might even be a spot check at the border for Recaro child seats.
I assure you, no company, not Safety 1st, not Eddie Bauer, or any other child car seat sold in Canada can even come close to the safety, and quality found in these seats. Not one of them.
What I would like to see happen is the following. For you to bring my concern, which also happens to be the concern from many of the Canadian parents on the child car seat forum mentioned above. Take this concern, and invite Recaro to the table. Allow them to show you their child safety seats. And try to accomodate them, try to get past some of the problems that is scaring this company from dealing with our country in the future. They want to sell their seats here, but our government is making that next to impossible to achieve.
I am hoping to get some follow up feedback along the way if this does take place. I am doing this for all future parents to give them a chance to have access to one of the greatest car seat companies in the world. I for one will still find a way to get that seat into my car no matter what.
Perhaps we can speak about this over the phone if necessary, so that I can give you some more details. In the meantime, I will be copying this message into the car seat forum mentioned above, so that other Canadians like me can see that at least one of us is trying to reach someone in the Canadian governemt that might be able to listen and do something about this most embarassing problem. Situations like these do NOT make me proud to be a Canadian, as we come across as some politically charged country, which is not the case. Anyone wiling to sell a product in Canada should be able to so in a short turnaround time, after appropriate Canadian testing is performed and approved.
Please, make some of our lives easier, and let the Canadian parents have a choice in terms of what seat they want their child's lives protected in. For quite a few of us, there is only 1, Recaro !!!
Thank you for your time,
Neil Sakaitis
Message:
To whom it may concern,
I am hoping that you will be able to forward this message to the right person. I can assure you that I am representing quite a few Canadian parents out there that would like an answer to this question. Most of these Canadian parents are members of a very popular child car seat forum on the internet called http://www.car-seat.org/
Here is the issue. One of the most popular, safest car seats on the market today is made by a company called Recaro. Some of you might know that compant name, because some of your cars have seats made by this company. They also make racing seats, as well as child safety seats. They have some of the highest standards in the world for safety.
Their seats are available in the US and in Europe, for some odd reason, not available in Canada. So I did some investigation, and spoke with some of the folks over at Recaro.
It turns out that the cost that this company has to incur to have their child safety seats tested in Canada are so astronomical, that it's not even worth it for them to make the seats available here. Further more, the testing standards in Canada are so complex, that the time it takes for these seats to be tested and approved are so long, that by the time that takes place, the car seat is already outdated by a replacement model. According to Recaro, even with these most difficult challenges, they have still tried to approach our government to make an effort to have their child car safety seats tested and approved for the Canadian market.
I strongly believe that the challenges and delays has more to do with politics and red tape than the actual testing issues. This is where you guys come in. Why all the trouble for child car seats made by Recaro, and why is the Canadian Government giving them a hard time, both financially as well as timing, to get the seats approved for Canada?
Here is the icing on the cake. I am one of those Canadians that uses logic. If the child seat attaches into the car's LATCH system, works with the 5 point harness, and is crach test approved within the US, then that's good enough for me. This is a common feeling among those wanting to buy these Recaro seats.
So I contacted Recaro to find some US dealers, and planned to pick one up in the US, and "smuggle" it into Canada. I couldn't believe what they told me. My purchase would put their company at risk, as the Canadian Government would pursue them with a $100,000 fine per seat sold to a Canadian. You have got to be kidding me. So now they are terrified at the idea of a Canadian walking into one of their retailers and walking out with one of their child safety seats. This is a real joke now. They have warned all of their US retailers NOT to deal with, or ship any of their child car seats to a Canadian. I would imagine that there might even be a spot check at the border for Recaro child seats.
I assure you, no company, not Safety 1st, not Eddie Bauer, or any other child car seat sold in Canada can even come close to the safety, and quality found in these seats. Not one of them.
What I would like to see happen is the following. For you to bring my concern, which also happens to be the concern from many of the Canadian parents on the child car seat forum mentioned above. Take this concern, and invite Recaro to the table. Allow them to show you their child safety seats. And try to accomodate them, try to get past some of the problems that is scaring this company from dealing with our country in the future. They want to sell their seats here, but our government is making that next to impossible to achieve.
I am hoping to get some follow up feedback along the way if this does take place. I am doing this for all future parents to give them a chance to have access to one of the greatest car seat companies in the world. I for one will still find a way to get that seat into my car no matter what.
Perhaps we can speak about this over the phone if necessary, so that I can give you some more details. In the meantime, I will be copying this message into the car seat forum mentioned above, so that other Canadians like me can see that at least one of us is trying to reach someone in the Canadian governemt that might be able to listen and do something about this most embarassing problem. Situations like these do NOT make me proud to be a Canadian, as we come across as some politically charged country, which is not the case. Anyone wiling to sell a product in Canada should be able to so in a short turnaround time, after appropriate Canadian testing is performed and approved.
Please, make some of our lives easier, and let the Canadian parents have a choice in terms of what seat they want their child's lives protected in. For quite a few of us, there is only 1, Recaro !!!
Thank you for your time,
Neil Sakaitis