Christine Grimard
Northern News Services
Wednesday, January 31, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - The Ontario Modified Vehicle Owners Council is opening a chapter in Yellowknife.

The council was established in June 2006, and has 300 members in Ontario. The group was set up to lobby the Ontario government over concerns about legislation affecting the interests of modified vehicle owners.

Ontario targetted modified vehicles after street racers with souped-up engines caused a number of fatal crashes, killing uninvolved bystanders.

The Ontario government passed legislation allowing greater police jurisdiction in issuing road-side liscence suspension when vehicles were suspected of involvement in street racing. Coradetti, president of the Ontario Modified Vehicle Owners Council, claimed that this led to social profiling of modified vehicle owners.

The council is a non-profit organization which meets with politicians to inform of concerns of modified vehicle owners.

"We would be targeted just based on our modified vehicle," said Corradetti.

"You would get singled out by police whether you were guilty or not."

Corradetti met with MLA Robert Hawkins to discuss the interests of his lobby group.

"From my perspective as an MLA, I'm more than willing to hear a person who has a perspective on a certain issue," said Hawkins.

After meeting with Hawkins, Corradetti said that upon reviewing NWT legislation he hasn't pinpointed any which would target modified vehicle owners. He said he told Hawkins that he would like to be kept in the loop on pending transportation legislation.

Corradetti said the after-market car industry is worth $43 billion a year in Canada. If laws are passed based on "knee-jerk reactions" rather than realistic safety concerns, he said, it could seriously hurt the industry.

"If the government keeps passing legislation, they'll be taking that market away," said Corradetti.