Motor vehicle inspection licence suspended at repair shop

Provincial officials have suspended the motor vehicle inspection licence at Birt's Small Engine & Repairsin Mount Stewart, P.E.I.

The suspension started Monday and lasts for 30 days, according to Doug MacEwen, the registrar of motor vehicles.

He said the suspension came after a complaint that mechanic Raymond Birt had passed a car that shouldn't have passed inspection.

An officer re-investigated the 2002 Cadillac Escalade and found eight problems, including one that could have caused the car's steering to fail.

The inspection station had a good operating record, but when you look at the list of components that were needing repair or replacement, it brought it to a fairly high level. Doug MacEwen

"In this situation, the inspection station had a good operating record, but when you look at the list of components that were needing repair or replacement, it brought it to a fairly high level," MacEwen said.

"We have a great inspection program and a lot of really top notch technicians. This is a good technician as well. He just missed these components when he did the inspection. We try to maintain a lot of integrity in the program."

MacEwen said suspensions of motor vehicle inspection licences are rare on P.E.I. He estimated there are usually only two orthree of these handed out a year across the province.

CBC spoke with Raymond Birt and he saidhe does not intend to appeal, and has no further comment.

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With files from Laura Chapin