The Things We Can’t Fix: Repair Culture, Corporate Control, and the Fight from the West

By Leni Spooner, creator of Between the Lines.

Western Canadians are pushing back on throwaway culture—and calling for a return to repairable, durable, affordable goods. The rest of us should be, too.

My dad always called them whipper snippers, and that’s what they remained—even as brands got slicker and trimmers got smarter. He was a Croatian‑Italian immigrant to Ontario, a lifelong Mr. Fixit who took pride in doing things himself. Fixing frayed wires, repairing a furnace fan, or coaxing a stubborn engine back to life was all part of who he was. For him, repair wasn’t just frugality—it was dignity.

So when a brand‑new “top‑of‑the‑line” whipper snipper stopped working—barely a season old—he assumed it would be an easy fix. A small plastic widget needed replacement. Twenty minutes and a screwdriver, he said. But when I went to get the part—no one had it. Not the major retailers still selling that model. Not the manufacturer. Not any repair shop. That tiny $3 part for a $300 tool might as well have never existed.

Dad didn’t believe me. He came along. We asked again. And again. Standing in the aisle beside tools still boxed and new, he had to face it: we couldn’t fix what we owned—not because it was broken beyond repair, but because the system said so.

He never used the new trimmer again. Instead, he went back to the old manual-spool model he trusted. On principle, he refused the manufactured obsolescence of the newer tool. That was over a decade ago—and things have only gotten worse since.

Bought It—But Do You Own It?

The “right to repair” should have been simple: if you buy something, you should be able to fix it. But in today’s world of sealed parts, embedded software locks, and corporate-installed technician monopolies, ownership no longer means agency.

Lots of products you rely on—phones, farm equipment, appliances, even hearing aids—are:

🔒 Designed for limited lifespans
🚫 Locked by software or proprietary parts
💸 Serviceable only by “authorized” technicians
❌ Risk-free DIY repair punished with voided warranties

Open the panel, and your warranty disappears. Try to find the part, and you might as well be looking for a ghost. Unless legislation changes, the economy is built not for repair—but for replacement.

When Repair Isn’t Optional

It’s one thing to lose your coffee maker or be forced to replace a phone you only half understand. It’s another when a broken piece of equipment interrupts your ability to earn a living.

That’s what’s happening across Western Canada, where farmers are on the front line of the Right to Repair crisis. In recent years, agricultural equipment has become so digitized and locked down that many producers can’t repair their own tractors during peak harvest—even when they know exactly what’s wrong. A failed sensor, a blocked code, or a restricted diagnostic tool can leave $400,000 machines idle in the field, waiting days for an authorized technician while crops sit vulnerable to weather.

And it’s not just farmers.

The ripple effect hits anyone who works with tools, machines, or digital infrastructure:

The landscaper who can’t replace a battery module in his zero-turn mower
The independent baker with a glitching smart oven she can’t service locally
The rideshare or delivery driver stuck with a $900 phone and no access to affordable screen repair

These aren’t luxury problems. They’re business threats. And in a gig economy, with more of us relying on side hustles, home-based work, or small-scale services, the right to repair is increasingly the right to remain economically independent.

A Prairie Pet Peeve—and a National Torchbearer

While this is a universal issue, Western Canada has become one of the few places where Right to Repair is visible politically. In the Battleriver–Crowfoot by-election, voters and candidates are actively debating it.

And it’s not an accident. The Prairies—and similar regions—understand fixing as a survival ethos: as immigrant value, working-class legacy, community necessity. When corporations shut out access to repair, they don’t just frustrate rural life—they violate deeply held values about resourcefulness and independence. This matters. Western Canada’s resistance isn’t just a regional pet peeve—it’s a signpost.

For instance, a 2024 report found that 65% of Canadian vehicle owners prefer independent repair shops over original manufacturer service providers, citing lower costs and shorter wait times. But this preference isn’t limited to cars—it reflects a much wider frustration. From laptops to washing machines, farm equipment to smartphones, Canadians are increasingly shut out of affordable, local repair options. Whether it’s because of proprietary parts, blocked access to diagnostic tools, or voided warranties, the path to repair is getting narrower—while the cost of replacement climbs.

From Built to Last to Built to Break

Look at how things used to last:

In the UK, a 2020 survey found washing machines typically lasted 13 to 21 years, with top models reaching 21 years.
Recent studies show average appliance lifespans—toasters, vacuums, washers—have dropped by as much as 45% in just two decades.
One repairman network suggests some modern appliances average under 4 years before major failure—even when lightly used.
The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers noted that in 2010, most appliances lasted 11 to 16 years. By 2019, this dropped to 9 to 14 years.

My parents’ 1993 Kenmore washing machine still runs perfectly under regular use—while many modern “smart washers” only last 5 years or less under similar conditions. That’s not minor. Such appliances cost hundreds—if not over a thousand dollars. And when they break, they don’t head to repair—they often head to the landfill, if not to a scrap metal recycler. Replacing a faulty computer chip in a smart washer—before labour—is often half the cost of buying a whole new machine. Compare that to the older “dumb” models, where replacing a mechanical dial might have cost $70 and could be done in a home garage. Now, you need diagnostics, proprietary tools, and a technician—and that’s if the parts are even available.

We’re Drowning in E-Waste

Appliance and electronic waste is now the fastest-growing waste stream in the world. Globally, we generated a record 62 million tonnes of e-waste in 2022, yet only around 22.3% is formally collected and recycled. The rest ends up in incinerators, landfills, or informal dumps—even as valuable materials go to waste and toxic waste burdens communities. The growth of e-waste generation is outpacing formal collection and recycling by almost a factor of 5 since 2010. It’s not just waste mismanagement—it’s waste by corporate design.

The overall annual economic monetary cost of e-waste management was estimated at USD $37 billion worldwide in 2022.

Why We All Should Be Angry

When corporations make repair prohibitively difficult, we lose more than convenience:

Environmental justice: Planned obsolescence deepens waste and extraction cycles, contributing to issues like increased methane and CO2 in landfills, and the leaching of toxic substances into soil and groundwater.
Economic autonomy: Independent repair shops are strangled; consumers locked into seasonal buying. This also leads to increased long-term expenditures for consumers.
Skills erosion: DIY culture is fading; so is self-reliance.
Ownership illusion: If you can’t fix it, do you really own it?

Jurisdictions like the EU and U.S. states (e.g., Massachusetts, California, Oregon, Texas) are starting to legislate repair access. Canada passed Bill C‑244 in late 2024, becoming the first country with a federal right-to-repair law. This bill amends the Copyright Act to allow circumvention of technological protection measures for diagnosis, maintenance, and repair, extending to computer programs. However, enforcement and product scope remain thin, with many experts noting it’s a “step in the right direction” but requires further statutory reform. Most progress is still grassroots, pushed by Western communities.

Even Canada’s Competition Bureau is weighing in. While their public video explainer is light on details, it reinforces the point: right to repair isn’t fringe. It’s a mainstream consumer protection issue, recognized at the federal level.
Learn more at competition-bureau.canada.ca

From Mr. Fixit’s Daughter

My dad never called himself radical. He just believed things were made to be repaired—not tossed.

When he realized he couldn’t fix what he owned, he walked away from the new and stayed loyal to the old. That kind of quiet protest might not make headlines, but it’s exactly the kind we need more of.

But here’s the deeper truth: we got here gradually, almost imperceptibly, because no one department, no single law, and no single moment was responsible for the erosion. The assault came from all sides—design practices, copyright law, consumer convenience, globalized supply chains, and the normalization of throwaway culture. It wasn’t a policy failure so much as a collective shrug.

The generation before the boomers took the right to repair for granted. You bought a thing, and if it broke, you fixed it—or someone nearby could. Every generation since has seen that right chipped away. And now, a child born this year will grow up in a world where the idea of fixing what you own may not even exist.

Pushing for legislation matters—but let’s be honest: no government is equipped to tackle the full scope of this issue on its own. The right to repair crosses into everything—environmental policy, economic resilience, digital rights, trade, rural viability, and education.

So once again, it’s back to us.

Back to voting with our dollars.
Back to sharing repair knowledge.
Back to demanding better—and refusing worse.

My dad drew his line quietly. We might need to draw ours a little louder. And a lot more often.

So let’s start where we can:

Ask your local candidates—federally and provincially—where they stand on Right to Repair
Support businesses that prioritize repairability and part access
Share your stories—What’s the last thing you tried to repair and couldn’t?
And most importantly, amplify the items and brands that can be repaired. Help rebuild the demand for products designed to last.

About the Author

Leni Spooner is a Canadian writer, researcher, and civic storyteller. She is the founder of Between the Lines | Kitchen Table Politics, a longform publication exploring how policy, economics, food systems, and everyday life intersect. Her work blends historical context with present-day analysis, helping readers see the deeper patterns that shape Canada’s choices — and the lives built around them.

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