A Message from your Executive Director
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the BC Powersports Dealers Association eNewsletter.
Although I’ve had the privilege of serving as Executive Director since January 2025, July 1 marked an exciting new chapter as I transitioned into an expanded full-time role dedicated to growing and strengthening BCPDA.
Over the past 18 months, we’ve been quietly building the foundation—strengthening relationships with government, regulators, OEMs, industry partners, and dealerships across British Columbia. Now it’s time to build on that momentum.
My vision for BCPDA is simple: to establish a strong, respected association that delivers meaningful value to dealers through advocacy, education, collaboration, and industry leadership. Whether we’re representing dealers at government tables, navigating regulatory change, creating business resources, or strengthening our industry network, our focus is on ensuring BC powersports dealers have a trusted voice and the support they need to succeed.
This newsletter is one of the ways we’ll keep you informed about that work.
If you’d like to learn more about my leadership philosophy and the collaborative approach I bring to advocacy, I invite you to read a recent feature in RidersWest Magazine. While the article reflects on my work in the outdoor recreation sector, it also captures the values I bring to BCPDA—building partnerships, finding practical solutions, and creating opportunities that strengthen our industry for the future.
Read the RidersWest feature:
How ATVBC is Driving the Future of Local Off-Road Tourism
Thank you for your support of the BC Powersports Dealers Association. I look forward to working with you as we continue building a stronger, more connected, and more influential powersports industry in British Columbia.
Kristin Parsons
Executive Director
[email protected]
BC Powersports Dealers Association
BCPDA Advocacy & Regulatory Updates
Important Compliance Update
New Consumer Protection Act Requirements Take Effect August 1
Beginning August 1, important changes to British Columbia’s Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act (BPCPA) will come into effect that may impact how your dealership completes Distance Sales Contracts.
These amendments introduce enhanced disclosure requirements and expanded consumer cancellation rights for qualifying transactions, making it essential that dealerships review their sales documentation and processes before the new rules take effect.
What Does This Mean for Dealers?
If your dealership conducts sales where the customer is not physically present when the agreement is entered into, you’ll want to ensure your documentation meets the new legislative requirements.
Before August 1, dealerships should:
- Review whether your business conducts distance sales.
- Update your paperwork to include the new Distance Sales Contract and Distance Sales Addendum, where applicable.
- Ensure your sales team understands the new disclosure requirements.
- Review your internal sales process to ensure compliance before the legislation comes into force.
Failure to meet the required disclosure obligations could provide consumers with additional cancellation rights under the amended legislation.
BCPDA Has You Covered
One of the key benefits of BCPDA membership is receiving timely information and practical resources when legislation changes.
To support members with this transition, we have developed resources including:
✔ Updated Distance Sales Contract
✔ Distance Sales Addendum
✔ Implementation guidance
✔ VSA reference materials and webinar information
✔ Ongoing member support to answer your questions
Our goal is to make regulatory changes easier to navigate so you can spend less time interpreting legislation and more time focusing on your customers and your business.
Need Assistance?
If you have questions about the upcoming requirements or need copies of the updated Distance Sales documents, we’re here to help.
[email protected]
Together, we’re building a stronger, more informed powersports industry in British Columbia.
Protecting Access, Protecting Our Industry
Access to recreation is essential to the long-term success of BC’s powersports industry. When trails and resource roads close, the impacts extend far beyond recreation—they affect tourism, rural communities, local businesses, and ultimately our dealerships.
This summer, BCPDA has been actively involved in supporting advocacy efforts surrounding the proposed Rady Creek and Incomappleux Forest Service Road deactivations in the Kootenays. Working alongside recreation organizations, local governments, community leaders, industry representatives, and property owners, we’ve helped ensure the economic impacts on our industry remain part of the conversation.
Most recently, BCPDA participated in a community access tour in the Incomappleux Valley that brought together more than 70 stakeholders to highlight the importance of maintaining responsible public access and encouraging meaningful dialogue before irreversible decisions are made.
These efforts have generated significant media attention across British Columbia, helping raise awareness of the broader impacts these closures could have on recreation, tourism, rural economies, and the powersports industry.
Learn More
We encourage members to read our official media release and explore the recent news coverage to learn more about these important advocacy efforts.
View Recent Media Coverage:
Motorcycle Licensing Program Modernization
For the past two years, BCPDA has served on ICBC’s Motorcycle Licensing Program (MLP) Stakeholder Committee, working alongside RoadSafetyBC, rider training organizations, safety advocates, and other industry representatives to help guide the future of motorcycle licensing in British Columbia.
Online Knowledge Tests Now Available
ICBC has recently expanded its digital services by introducing online knowledge testing for both passenger vehicle and motorcycle learner licences (Class 5 and Class 8).
Eligible customers can now complete their knowledge test online from anywhere in Canada or the United States using a desktop or laptop computer with a webcam and internet connection.
The new service provides greater convenience while maintaining existing in-person testing options for customers who prefer or require them.
For dealerships and rider training providers, this change may make it easier for new riders to begin the licensing process, particularly those living in rural or remote communities.
Graduated Licensing Program Changes
The Province has also announced changes to British Columbia’s Graduated Licensing Program for passenger vehicles, effective October 19, 2026.
Check out the full press release here: BC Gov News
These updates include:
- Removal of the second road test.
- A new 12-month restriction period for new Class 5 drivers.
- A shorter licensing pathway for drivers aged 25 and older.
While these changes apply to passenger vehicles, they are an important milestone in the overall modernization of BC’s licensing programs.
RoadSafetyBC has confirmed that the lessons learned through this process will help inform the future Motorcycle Licensing Program, with implementation currently anticipated in 2027.
We’ll continue monitoring this file closely and will keep members informed as additional Motorcycle Licensing Program details become available.
DEALER SUMMIT IS COMING
Membership
What Happens If We Don’t?
The work you’ve read about in this newsletter doesn’t happen by accident.
Every meeting with government, every stakeholder committee, every submission, every consultation, every resource developed for dealers, and every advocacy campaign requires time, expertise, and industry support.
Without a strong, united dealer association:
- Who represents powersports dealers when new legislation is written?
- Who pushes back on unnecessary regulatory costs and red tape?
- Who ensures dealers have a voice on licensing, consumer protection, and emerging technologies?
- Who protects access to the places where our customers ride?
- Who keeps dealers informed before regulatory changes take effect—not after?
The reality is that if dealers aren’t at the table, decisions will still be made—just without the dealer perspective.
Government will continue introducing new legislation. Regulators will continue developing policies. Recreation access decisions will continue affecting where people ride.
The question is whether BC’s powersports dealers will have a strong, unified voice helping shape those decisions.
That voice is only as strong as the industry standing behind it.
If you believe our industry deserves representation, practical advocacy, and a seat at the table, we invite you to become part of that voice by supporting the BC Powersports Dealers Association.
Together, we’re protecting the future of powersports in British Columbia.
