Question Period Note: Auto Theft

Canada is dealing with a vehicle theft epidemic. There has been an observed increase in media attention and calls from foreign countries and the public for the Government of Canada to respond more strongly to address this issue.

• Our government recognizes the impact that auto theft is having on Canadians, and we are committed to working collaboratively with domestic and international partners, including border control, law enforcement, and stakeholders to address this issue to ensure that Canadians feel safe in their communities.
• We know that the links to auto theft and organized crime are there, and that is why this government is tackling this issue from all angles, and why we are taking concrete actions across government to combat these crimes.
• Although the criminal investigations for auto theft in Canada are led by the police of jurisdiction in the community where the theft takes place, we are actively supporting partners in their efforts to combat these crimes.
• The RCMP is working with the Ontario Provincial Police and the Sûreté du Québec in supporting provincial strategies to tackle this challenge, and as well supporting other local police of jurisdiction in their efforts.
 
• At the border, the CBSA is working closely with domestic and international partners to ensure we are adequately securing the border. This includes working in partnership with the police and responding to referrals and other intelligence sources to intercept shipments that may contain stolen vehicles.
• Through various partnerships, we are actively contributing to joint efforts in areas that have been hardest hit by auto theft, and we will continue to engage with key stakeholders to ensure we remain up-to-date on this issue and its impacts on Canadians, and in order to be able to best respond to this evolving issue.

An estimated 90K cars annually (or one car every six minutes) are stolen in Canada. This results in approximately $1B in annual costs to Canadian insurance policy-holders and tax payers.
Auto theft is viewed as low risk with high profit, and thieves often coordinate a multi-step process to track desirable, newer models of SUVs or trucks from public spaces to owners' homes where they use sophisticated electronic devices to gain access to the vehicle. The theft typically happens at night and can take only a few seconds. Stolen vehicles are then either exported or dismantled for their parts, like catalytic converters that can be worth $800 to $1200 alone.
According to Équité Association, a national not-for-profit organization that supports Canadian insurers to fight fraud, Quebec and Ontario had the highest number of vehicle thefts in 2023 with more than 7.8K and 15K vehicles, respectively, stolen during the first six months. In 2022, rates of vehicle theft rose by around 50% in Quebec and 48.3% in Ontario compared to the previous year.
But auto theft is not always just about stealing a vehicle from someone's driveway. Organized crime groups are increasingly using the export of stolen vehicles as a means of transnational money laundering, as compensation for other illicit commodities such as drugs and as part of insurance fraud.
Rates of vehicle theft are expected to increase as organized crime groups become more skilled in sustaining their revenue flow from stolen vehicles.
Because criminal investigations of auto theft are the responsibility of police of jurisdiction, an effective federal government response would focus on other dimensions of auto theft that leverage existing mandates, roles and responsibilities.
Public Safety plays a coordination and facilitation role in countering auto theft, participating in discussions with partners and stakeholders at federal-provincial/territorial tables including the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the National Coordinating Committee on Organized Crime. Through these fora, PS facilitates strategic policy discussions and information sharing between law enforcement agencies and public policy makers across Canada. With increasing expressed interest from the public on federal responses to auto theft, including from sector associations like Global Automakers of Canada and Équité, regional advocacy groups like the Ontario Auto Mayors and automotive manufacturers like Honda Canada, there is a demonstrated need to include key stakeholders and partners in the discourse to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated approach to combatting vehicle theft.
CBSA works closely with domestic and international partners including intelligence and law enforcement in a joint effort to ensure border security. In cases involving the interdiction of stolen vehicles at the point of export, the CBSA works in partnership with the police of jurisdiction, and other intelligence sources which allows it to act on referrals from partners. CBSA is currently exploring how its networks could be leveraged to support post-border activities further.
The RCMP's Federal Policing (FP) program contributes its skills and expertise and works closely with its law enforcement partners to support their domestic efforts to disrupt this criminal activity. For example, FP is working with the Ontario Provincial Police’s to help develop their provincial strategy for vehicle theft. The RCMP and OPP are also exploring funding opportunities to support operational activities for INTERPOL’s transnational vehicle crime project. In Quebec, the RCMP is a member of the Integrated Vehicle Theft Team coordinated by the Sûreté du Québec, which aims to target overseas export networks of stolen vehicles. Internationally, the RCMP coordinated Canada’s participation at the 4th INTERPOL Global Vehicle Crime Conference held in spring 2023 in France. Work is also underway to connect Canada’s stolen motor vehicle records with the INTERPOL Stolen Motor Vehicle database to help facilitate the identification of stolen cars by police in other jurisdictions and to assist in the targeting of organized crime groups receiving these vehicles.
While Transport Canada (TC) does not have a specific crime prevention mandate, the department works with Canada Port Authorities to develop site-specific infrastructure improvements that would help combat the export of stolen vehicles. Funding through National Trade Corridors program, including $2.8M to the Port of Saint John, $2.4M to the Port of Vancouver and $7.0M to the Halifax Port Authority, helps strengthen CBSA's container inspection processes. TC also works with marine facilities in major ports to improve cargo handling security procedures and reporting of suspicious containers to CBSA. Ongoing engagement with key stakeholders including automobile manufacturers, rail companies, Canada Port Authorities and port operators and security partners supports a comprehensive approach to combating auto theft. Leadership on a federal-provincial/territorial working group under the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety also supports collaborative discussions on vehicle theft.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) engages regularly with original equipment manufacturers and manufacturer associations, including to discuss auto theft, and will continue to receive and share information as the issue, and industry/government’s planned responses, continue to develop.
Private industry has also expressed interest in deepening their partnership and engagement on this issue and have offered to share information and intelligence for the purposes of enforcement. We are looking into the feasibility and benefits of this and other options.

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