Global attention is bearing down on Canada’s auto theft problem as Canadian politicians step up efforts to show they’re addressing the issue.
Interpol has labelled Canada one of the world’s main source countries for stolen vehicles in a growing international market, and that’s having serious impacts on Canadians—not only driving up insurance premiums but also putting people at risk.
Only about a month into 2024, two carjackings had already occurred with young children in the backseat.
In one of those cases, a Toronto woman was loading groceries into her car when thieves drove away with her 4-month-old baby and 5-year-old in the back. Both children were found safe, though one was taken to hospital with minor injuries. The suspects were only 13 and 16 years old.
The thieves have become more brazen, putting people in danger, authorities say. They’re also tech-savvy, able to hack a car’s start mechanism with relative ease.
Meanwhile, insurance premiums are rising, impacting Canadians who aren’t direct victims of theft.
Both Conservatives and Liberals have recently proposed policies to tackle the problem, and greater scrutiny is now focused on the root causes of the problem.
Low Penalties
Transnational organized crime networks are targeting Canada because “the risk of prosecution is low and the financial reward is high,” Brian Kingston, head of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, said at the summit.The low-risk, high-profit factor has been oft-repeated by others, including law enforcement officials.
“Only in Ontario, we saw 68 percent of those convicted serve a sentence of six months or less. We need to see stiffer penalties. We absolutely need to have a deterrence for these crimes,” Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Thomas Carrique said at the summit.
He explained how the crime is being perpetrated at various levels, from teens on the street up through the higher echelons of large criminal organizations.
“Spotters” are paid between $75 and $100 to identify vehicles of interest—certain makes and models are more desired, and newer vehicles are targeted. Sometimes spotters put tracking devices on the vehicles.
Car thieves receive between $3,000 and $20,000, depending on the vehicle. The vehicles are taken somewhere to “cool off,” and then runners drive them to the Port of Montreal, in many cases. Sometimes they go to rail yards in the GTA.
The vehicles are loaded onto shipping containers, and profits run from about $60,000 to $80,000 per container. The vehicles are sold overseas, often for more than double their value, Mr. Carrique said.
Vehicles are shipped mostly to parts of Africa or Dubai, and sometimes sold via social media and other online postings. While many go abroad, some vehicles are also sold in Canada or dismantled and sold for parts.
Search and Seizure Lacking
Stephen Taub of Toronto tracked his stolen Range Rover to the Port of Montreal using a tracking device aboard his vehicle. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) was notified of the vehicle’s location, but the agency told him it could not guarantee the vehicle’s retrieval, Mr. Taub told The Canadian Press.
CBSA reportedly told him that, due to manpower shortages, it might not be able to open the container for a few months, and the container might ship by then even though it had been set aside. Mr. Taub went to the CBSA office in Montreal personally and urged the agency to retrieve his vehicle; it did the following day.
“If I didn’t go there, I never would have gotten the car back,” he said. He is among many Canadians who have had more than one of his vehicles stolen, which is why he had a tracking device on it.
Mr. Poilievre said a Conservative government would invest $132.7 million over five years to increase the number of X-ray scanners used to detect stolen cars in shipping containers at multiple Canadian ports.
Authorities in the receiving countries have been seizing and returning some vehicles. But some have also complained that the crime is happening in Canada and it’s hard for them to solve it.
Technology
Thieves use various methods to start the car they want to steal, CBC reported. They may hold a device outside the owner’s home to scan for the key fob signal. These devices have become more sophisticated and can be used from greater distances to pick up the fob signal and replicate it to open and start the car.Sometimes they tap into a car’s Controller Area Network using a node on the exterior, allowing them to unlock and start the car.
