It’s hard to believe how quickly time passes. It almost seems like it was yesterday that our 2025 OARA Convention and Trade Show was taking place. This year’s event was significant on many levels. Not only did we get an opportunity to pay tribute to Steve Fletcher and the incredible work he has done on behalf of the auto recycling industry, as well as wishing him a very happy retirement, but we also had some great opportunities to discuss the way forward for the sector, including how we can continue to collaborate and grow.

Encouraging feedback

We’ve received some encouraging feedback from the convention, and our roundtable discussion just prior to the event generated some great food for thought. Being a glass-half-full type of person, it was great to see conversations generated around how different stakeholders can help each other and collectively, drive the industry forward.

A significant question that emerged from the roundtable was how we build and create win-win scenarios, and what are the challenges we need to overcome in order to get there. 

Following the convention, the OARA board has committed to this as a priority for the association and we’re already taking steps including the creation of a project plan as a foundation for furthering our efforts.

More pillars

As we progress further, we will see more pillars to this initiative as well as deliverables required to achieve our objectives.

Another aspect of our work has been ongoing progress on the legislative front. Steve was always a driving force in making sure that OARA and its members were actively engaged with government and that’s something that will continue. 

Recently, the Ontario government announced the appointment of an associate minister for Auto Theft and Bail Reform (Milton MPP Zee Hamid). For us at OARA, this represents a unique opportunity to showcase what auto recyclers do and ways in which our sector can contribute to tackling the issue of stolen vehicles. 

New opportunity 

Additionally, it also provides an opportunity to alter and improve the framework of how various different stakeholders within the auto sector operate and work together, including OEMs, as well as providing a chance for recyclers to look at their own businesses and find ways to make operational improvements where applicable. The Ontario government has made stolen vehicles a priority and while it is a specific niche, it’s currently one that’s high profile and give our industry an opportunity to showcase to the public what we do and the critical role we play within the automotive sector and the circular economy.

Finally, with the threat of tariffs having cast a big shadow over the economy, we will continue to monitor developments in this space and the potential impact they are likely to have. There’s no question that the tariff threat impacts the ability of our members and our industry to properly plan for the future, but the advantages of quality used auto parts are being increasingly recognized by insurers, collision repairers and even OEMs to ensure that vehicles can be repaired and returned to the road, safely and efficiently while minimizing cost and environmental impact. And that’s a value proposition that [particularly in a higher cost higher tariff era) is simply hard to ignore.