Ottawa, Ontario - Today, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, the Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, and the Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Transport and Quebec Lieutenant, announced the release of the National Action Plan on Combatting Auto Theft.
The Action Plan is focused on disrupting, dismantling and prosecuting the organized crime groups involved in auto theft. It identifies various measures and initiatives that can be implemented by the federal, provincial and territorial governments and their partners, in keeping with their respective roles, priorities and responsibilities. It builds on the National Summit on Combatting Auto Theft, convened by the Government of Canada in February, and recent enforcement actions that have led to the seizure of hundreds of stolen vehicles.
Auto theft is a complex problem that requires manufacturers, insurance companies, shippers, law enforcement agencies and governments to work together on solutions. Each partner has a to role play. Recognizing the impact of auto theft, the Government is moving forward with immediate actions that fall within federal authority:
- Legislative and regulatory changes, including proposed amendments to the Criminal Code, to institute tougher penalties for auto theft with ties to violence, organized crime and money laundering, new offences targeting the possession and distribution of devices that facilitate auto theft, a new aggravating factor applicable at sentencing where there is evidence that an offender involved a person under the age of 18 in the commission of an offence, as well as changes to the Radiocommunication Act to regulate devices used to steal cars, as committed in Budget 2024. The Government has launched a consultation to gather information relating to the use of wireless devices in auto theft. In addition, Transport Canada will review and modernize the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations related to theft prevention, to ensure they consider technological advancements to deter and prevent auto theft.
- Intelligence/information sharing enhancements between municipal, provincial, federal and international police and customs officials in support of criminal investigations, charges, and prosecutions, building on joint efforts that are already underway. This includes Government of Canada taking a leadership role through the establishment of a National Intergovernmental Working Group on Auto Theft to coordinate actions, monitor progress and explore new initiatives. Maintaining strong relationships to share information will allow the CBSA to continue acting on 100% of referrals from the police while also conducting searches based on its own intelligence.
- Intervention improvements that will allow more shipping containers to be examined, through increased capacity at the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the integration of new targeting tools. Increasing our capacity to target and search shipping containers will contribute to intercepting stolen vehicles before they leave the country.
The National Action Plan will be continuously reviewed and updated to be responsive to this evolving criminal trend.
The Government of Canada will continue to work with its partners to make it harder to steal cars; make it harder to move stolen cars to a port; target and prosecute the criminals stealing cars; and recover stolen vehicles in ports and rail yards.
