The Trudeau government wants to mobilize the provinces, police forces and the automobile industry to counter the scourge of auto theft that is afflicting the country.
The Minister of Public Safety, Dominic LeBlanc, announced on Sunday the holding of a national summit to fight against vehicle theft, which will take place in Ottawa on February 8.
PHOTO JUSTIN TANG, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
The Minister of Public Safety, Dominic LeBlanc
This very lucrative and very sophisticated transnational crime not only affects Canadians, but also strengthens criminal organizations thanks to the proceeds of crime, argued Minister LeBlanc in a press scrum alongside four of his colleagues.
The announcement of this summit came on the first day of a three-day federal cabinet retreat in Montreal aimed at preparing for the start of the parliamentary term. The housing crisis, the rising cost of living, immigration policies as well as the consequences of the presidential election on Canadian-American relations are among the topics that will be discussed during this retreat.
On average, a car is stolen every six minutes in the country, according to a report published last June. According to auto industry estimates, auto theft rates increased by 50% in Quebec and 48.3% in Ontario in 2022 compared to the previous year.
The port of Montreal has also become a hub for the export of stolen vehicles. The majority of these vehicles end up in Africa and the Middle East.
Several stratagems are used to thwart the police authorities. In Montreal, stolen vehicles end up at the port because criminal networks have registered companies that serve as fronts to simulate shipments of goods.
Even elected officials are robbed
Even elected officials do not escape this scourge. On the federal scene, former Minister of Justice David Lametti saw the official vehicle allocated to him by the federal government be stolen by thieves on two occasions, CBC reported last June. The first vehicle, a Toyota Highlander XLE, was stolen on February 11, 2011 and has never been recovered. The second, another Toyota Highlander XLE, disappeared on February 13, 2023, but was found a month later.
On the provincial scene, the Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie, Martine Biron, was also the victim of a car theft, reported The Montreal Journal. His company vehicle was stolen on December 5 in the Saint-Émile sector in Quebec. He was finally found a few hours later in Montreal.
The summit proposed by Ottawa aims to identify “short, medium and long term” solutions to counter this scourge.
“Collaboration is essential to finding solutions. By bringing together partners from local, provincial and national jurisdictions, during this summit we will be able to better coordinate our collective efforts to fight vehicle theft,” said Mr. LeBlanc.
The minister said he was worried about the violence which increasingly marks these vehicle thefts. “We are seeing more and more people who are attacked during these crimes. This scourge has become a great source of concern in the four corners of the country,” added the minister.
His Quebec counterpart, Minister François Bonnardel, welcomed the Trudeau government’s announcement. “The scourge of car theft was one of Quebec’s priority subjects during the last meeting of federal, provincial and territorial partners last October in Bromont. I will participate with the Public Security teams to find lasting solutions,” he commented.
According to the Minister of Transport, Pablo Rodriguez, who is also Justin Trudeau’s political lieutenant in Quebec, the increase in these crimes has a significant impact.
“Too many Canadians have paid the high price, financially and emotionally, of having their cars stolen,” said Mr. Rodriguez.
“Auto theft is a growing criminal phenomenon that affects Canadians from coast to coast. It is essential that we tackle this problem,” stressed the Minister of Industry, François-Philippe Champagne.
With Tommy Chouinard, The Press