I had just been told by a tire shop that no road hazard warranties have been offered by the tire manufacturers for the past couple of years, it this true?

I had a cut tire a few years ago after only 3 months, and was able to get a replacement tire pro-rated based on the tread wear even though I did not purchase any road hazard warranty from the shop I bought the tire from, and since this shop wasn't an "authorized Bridgestone dealer", I had to go to an authorized dealer to get the replacement tire, but there was no hassle from the authorized dealer.

Any thoughts, facts, or inputs? (note I am located in Canada, not sure if this makes any difference or not)

Thanks

Not sure if this will be of any help, but tirerack.com - click to view full page - (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=50) has this to say:
Manufacturer Road Hazard Warranty
While road hazard injuries (cuts, punctures, snags and bruises) or impact damage caused by potholes, curbs or other objects in the road are an undesirable part of driving, the tire damage they inflict is not within the control of the tire manufacturer and is not typically covered by their limited tire warranties. Regardless of its quality, no tire is indestructible.

Currently there are a limited number of tires that remain backed by a tire manufacturer road hazard warranty, such as Michelin's ZP Assurance Plan covering Michelin Self-Supporting Zero Pressure (ZP) run flat tires.

However, because many drivers desire the financial security that a road hazard program provides, The Tire Rack offers an economically priced, optional Tire Road Hazard Service Program to our retail customers. Click here to see details.

NOTE: The Tire Rack Tire Road Hazard Service Program is not offered whenever the tire manufacturer provides any road hazard coverage to avoid the possibility of unwarranted duplicate coverage.

Until your post, I'd never heard of a manufacturer offering road hazard warranties, only distributors. The last time I bought a set, I paid $13US each, which came in handy when I hit a curb and blew out one of my tires two weeks later. Free replacement with the warranty; would've cost me another $180 without the warranty, so it certainly paid for itself.