Parliamentary Committee Notes: Recent Federal Actions to Combat Auto Theft

Issue

Canada is dealing with a rise in vehicle theft, particularly in Ontario and Quebec.  The Government of Canada is taking action to disrupt, dismantle and prosecute organized crime groups involved in auto theft. issue.

Proposed Response

Background

An estimated 90K cars annually (or one car every six minutes) are stolen in Canada. This results in approximately $1.2B 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 $1,200 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.  

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. 

National Summit

The February 8 National Summit on Combatting Auto Theft was organized to advance dialogue on combatting auto theft, bringing together senior leaders to consider how best to ensure a coordinated response in advancing a cohesive pan-Canadian plan. Approximately 200 decision-makers from all levels of government, law enforcement as well as from the insurance, automotive and shipping sectors actively participated in person at the event, with additional guests observing live online. Participants signed a Statement of Intent immediately following the Summit to signal their commitment to working collaboratively on efforts to combat auto theft.

Following the Summit, PS worked with federal, provincial and industry partners to finalize a cohesive action plan outlining concrete short, medium and long-term actions shared across Summit participants. This pan-Canadian action plan is being released publicly as announced.  

The Summit and action plan supports ongoing federal efforts on combatting auto theft, including continued partnerships.

As criminal investigations of auto theft are the responsibility of police of jurisdiction, an effective federal government response focuses on other dimensions of auto theft that leverage existing mandates, roles and responsibilities. 

Budget 2024 Commitments

Budget 2024 highlighted the government’s intent to amend the Criminal Code with a view to include new criminal offences related “to auto theft involving the use of violence or links to organized crime; possession or distribution of an electronic or digital device for the purposes of committing auto theft; and laundering proceeds of crime for the benefit of a criminal organization”. In this vein, “a new aggravating factor at sentencing if an offender involved a young person in committing an offence under” the Code would be added. Budget 2024 also confirmed “the government’s intention to amend the Radiocommunication Act to regulate the sale, possession, distribution, and import of devices used to steal cars”. The objective of this measure would “enable law enforcement agencies to remove devices believed to be used to steal cars from the Canadian marketplace”.

PS Portfolio Actions

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 actions 100% of referrals made by police of jurisdiction and has participated in 14 separate joint forces operations to date.

CBSA is currently exploring how its networks could be leveraged to support post-border activities further. 

Following the announcement of $28M in funding allocated to the CBSA over 3 years, the agency will enhance capacity to target and examine containers suspected of containing stolen vehicles. The CBSA will also review existing legislation and regulations to identify gaps in export reporting requirements alongside barriers to information sharing with our partner. And finally, the agency will explore and test existing and new technologies over 5 years to improve efficiencies in the detection of stolen vehicles.

While the investigation of these types of offences falls under the police of jurisdiction, the RCMP’s Federal Policing (FP) program contributes its skills and expertise and works closely with its law enforcement partners to support their efforts to disrupt this criminal activity both domestically and internationally.  

For example, in Quebec, a member from the RCMP’s Montreal National Port Enforcement Team (NPET) has been participating in Project RECHERCHER – an Integrated Vehicle Theft Team led by the Sûreté du Québec and other municipal police services that aims to target the criminal groups in Canada responsible for the overseas export of stolen vehicles. The RCMP’s involvement is limited to the exportation aspect of the crime, specifically out of the Port of Montreal. Similarly, two members from Montreal’s NPET are also involved in Project VECTOR – a multi-jurisdictional operation focused on the identification and interdiction of stolen vehicles that is being led by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). Project VECTOR is composed of multiple police forces in Ontario and Québec (federal, provincial, and municipal) aiming to integrate intelligence and enforcement capability to disrupt organized crime activities on stolen vehicles at all stages of the outbound criminal supply chain. On April 3, the OPP-led Provincial Auto Theft and Towing Team and CBSA announced that 598 vehicles had been recovered from the Port of Montreal before they were illegally exported as part of Project VECTOR.

The RCMP also leverages the capabilities of INTERPOL and its Liaison Officer network to contribute to and advance international investigations into the transnational organized crime groups who orchestrate these crimes. Recently, the RCMP coordinated the Canadian participation of an INTERPOL led transnational vehicle crime project resulting in several arrests and the recovery of stolen vehicles in Canada. Going forward, the RCMP is working to connect Canada’s stolen motor vehicle records with INTERPOL’s stolen motor vehicle (SMV) database to help facilitate the RCMP’s ongoing global repatriation of Canada’s stolen cars exported abroad and the targeting of organized crime groups receiving these vehicles. Going forward, the RCMP is working to connect Canada’s stolen motor vehicle records with INTERPOL’s stolen motor vehicle (SMV) database to help facilitate the RCMP’s ongoing global repatriation of Canada’s stolen cars exported abroad and the targeting of organized crime groups receiving these vehicles.

Other Federal Departments Actions

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. 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. 

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