Although the deadline has been pushed back, business owners aren't feeling any less stress. 

It was announced earlier this year that SGI would be making changes to their policies regarding autobody shops and will introduce a two-tier system along with various mandated regulations. Due to the high costs associated with keeping up with the new legislation, many shops may faces closures in the coming months or years said Dave Tillie, Owner of Tillie's Autobody in Moose Jaw. 

He said many in the industry are feeling the heat since the announcement and although there's a bit of breathing room with the deadline not being April 1st 2020 anymore, they're still nervous as to what that could mean for their future. 

"What it really is, is it's the automakers that are telling the insurance companies that your repair shops are not repairing our cars properly. They don't mean all the cars, they're talking about the new cars with their high standards, their airbags, their aluminium bodies, carbon fibre, there are all kinds of stuff coming out," Tillie explained. 

Known as the "old guy" in the automotive world in our city, Tillie said that expensive changes that happened every ten to fifteen years don't seem so bad when you're young, but when you're nearing retirement it's hard to see the investment as worth it, noting that shops across the country could suffer once the new legislation is implemented. He believes these changes will force shop owners to buy various pieces of expensive equipment as well as send their employees to training to be able to operate it, estimating it around $200,000 for a shop his size. 

He added that he agrees we should be keeping up with safety standards in every area including automotive, but with the large technical advancements, it's hard for small business owners to stay in line with industry leaders and major dealerships.

"We will be around it could two, three, four years, we don't know yet. It all depends on how hard SGI enforces their new legislation as far as the equipment that's going to be needed and the training. We're going to stick around basically until they tell us we have to have it," he said. 

Tillie began his education in the automotive trade in 1973 going to post-secondary locally and has owned his business for almost 25 years in Moose Jaw. Through the years he and his team have worked on and admired thousands and thousands of automobiles and everything that runs on a motor but he said his favourite thing about being a business owner and working in the industry has been the people. 

"You try your best to please everybody, there's always a handful of people over the years that you just couldn't please them. But 90% of the customers we've had have been totally faithful to us, they come back time after time after time. They tell their neighbours what a good job it was, it's awesome to see your customers come back or bring their kids or their grandkids even."

Tillie said he knows that he has to keep at it as they're still creating new relationships with customers and getting new contracts to this day.

"I'm not ready to call it quits just yet, but I know my time is numbered. I'm the old guy in town here, sometimes the old guy is going to have to take a rest I guess, but not yet."