MPs voted unanimously to probe a growing auto theft black market that sees Canadian vehicles stolen and then exported to other countries.
During a meeting of the Commons public safety committee on Oct. 23, Bloc Québécois MP Kristina Michaud put forward a motion to “study car thefts in Canada as well as federal resources to fight crime,” which all members supported.
Insurance claims for stolen cars, trucks, and SUVs last year cost over $1 billion, according to a Blacklock’s Reporter article on Oct. 24.
Alberta MP Dane Lloyd told the committee this is a “national issue.” He said he had personal experience as a vehicle owner who had his own vehicle stolen. “I did recover it thanks to tracking technology that many companies are putting into their vehicles.”
Ms. Michaud told the committee that 60 percent of cars stolen in Ontario wind up in the Port of Montréal and are shipped to countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. “We are talking about a thousand thefts a month.”
“Insurance companies have had to pay a billion in claims in the past year,” added Ms. Michaud. “Everyone here knows someone whose car was stolen. The federal government has a direct responsibility.”
Mississauga-Malton, Ontario, Liberal MP Iqwinder Gaheer told the committee that his community seemed to be the car theft capital of Canada.
“The region I am from, Peel Region, which includes Mississauga and Brampton, is particularly hard hit,” he said. “We probably have the highest level of car thefts in the country. This is something my constituents raise with me all the time. I hear it every single day.”
The report said that, for the first time in Canada, it’s estimated that the insurance industry lost over $1 billion in auto theft claims in 2022. Many of the vehicles are stolen and shipped overseas.
According to official estimates, Canadian ports handle 1.8 million shipping containers each year, but few containers are randomly inspected. Minutes of a 2011 meeting of Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) managers said that the estimated number of export examinations is less than 1 percent, while the Montreal region reported that port checks were conducted only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Other records suggested Halifax officers are only completing a maximum of six inspections per month.
In 2010, Parliament got tough on auto theft by passing Bill S-9, “An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (auto theft and trafficking in property obtained by crime.” The bill introduced a penalty of up to five years in jail if found guilty of alteration or removal of a vehicle identification number on a vehicle. The bill also allowed the CBSA new access to police databases to track stolen vehicles that could be bound for export out of the country.
