Toronto, Ontario – The Canadian Council of Collision Repairers (CCCR) held its inaugural meeting on February 16, 2023, to introduce the council’s mission and welcome shop owners and managers to come together for the benefit of the collision repair industry. The meeting, which was conducted via Zoom, featured discussions on the council’s purposes, mission, and updates from regional representatives.
Darryl Simmons, the moderator, provided an introduction and background of the CCCR. He explained the council’s mission statement is to reflect the professional standards of collision repairers while providing advocacy, inspiration, knowledge and tools needed for shops to succeed to better serve their stakeholders and their clients. The council aims to achieve its goals through data-driven activities, and members will dictate future endeavors via email surveys and sub-committee development.
Kelvin Campbell, Atlantic Canada Representative, and Max DiFelice, Southern Ontario Representative, co-chaired the meeting and introduced themselves. The pair emphasized that the group is not designed to build walls with partners, but to establish goals that prioritize the needs of shops. They stressed the importance of working together to create positive results across the board.
Regional representatives from Eastern Ontario, Greater Toronto Area, Northern Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia also introduced themselves and provided updates on their regions. They discussed the importance of extending the group to be larger to establish further credibility, promote the value of the industry and improve its image.
Tom Bissonnette, Director of Saskatchewan Association of Automotive Repairers (SAAR), shared his experience with SAAR to highlight the positive progress the organization has made by building relationships with its provincial insurer.
The group also discussed the potential of having a live, in-person meeting, which would piggy-back with Collision Repair magazine’s “EV Repair Tour” this summer. They agreed that the council should only be open to shop owners and managers at this time, while group mandates are decided.
Regional reps will encourage more sign-ups and sub-committees will be established with smaller meetings.
- Atlantic: Kelvin Campbell
- Southern Ontario: Max DiFelice
- Eastern Ontario: Shawn Stenson
- GTA: Jeff Pabst
- Northern Ontario: Daniel Trevisanutto
- Manitoba: Joel McPhail
- Saskatchewan: Mike Mario
- Alberta: Steve Hammond
- British Columbia: Wade Bartok
The next steps include an email survey to prioritize issues, setting up sub-committees via the website with selected chairs, and asking members to join the groups they are interested in. Smaller Zoom meetings will be set up, and updates provided by email. An in-person meeting is being planned via survey.
For more information or to contact a Regional Rep, email info@collisionrepaircouncil.ca or visit the website at www.collisionrepaircouncil.ca.
