Transport minister seeks states and territories to cooperate on car thefts

OTTAWA – The federal transportation minister says national cooperation is needed to close loopholes that criminals can use to resell stolen cars.

Anita Anand’s office has sent letters to her state and territory counterparts, calling for meetings to discuss changing the Vehicle Identification Numbers of stolen cars and then reselling them. “regain” vehicles.

The minister’s office notes in the letters that the long-standing Interprovincial Registration Exchange can assist in determining reinstatement and that all provinces and territories should fully participate in the system.

His office says states and localities need to make sure the record exchange technology they use to communicate with other jurisdictions is up to date, or potential thieves may find ways to get around it.

In May, the federal government made a statement. national plan against auto theft This includes greater intelligence sharing between police forces and a working group covering all levels of government.

It also called for greater intervention at ports, with the Canada Border Services Agency tasked with expanding searches of shipping containers to prevent vehicles from being shipped overseas.

Anand’s office says: decrease in overall theftsPolice reported an increase in replacement chassis numbers of stolen cars.

“Given the importance of addressing the issue of repossession, I ask all provinces and territories to prioritize this issue to further deter and prevent auto theft in Canada,” Anand writes in his letter.

Closing the leak

“While the long-standing Interprovincial Registration Exchange helps detect the repossession of vehicles, all provinces and territories need to fully participate in this system to close the loophole that criminals use to resell stolen vehicles in Canada.”

More than 1,900 stolen vehicles have been seized by the Canada Border Services Agency, the majority of which were found in Quebec.

Statistics released by the Insurance Bureau of Canada earlier this month show more than 4,000 vehicles were stolen in the first six months of 2024 compared to the same period the previous year, but the bureau warned the numbers were still more than double 10 years ago.

Much of the auto theft problem is concentrated in Ontario and Quebec; Stolen vehicles are passed through the Port of Montreal and then shipped abroad.

According to insurance crime watchdog Équité Association, 28,550 vehicles were stolen in Canada in the first half of 2024. The watchdog’s finding indicated a 17 percent drop in thefts compared to the previous year.

More than 70,000 private vehicles were stolen across Canada last year, with more than 30,000 stolen in Ontario, according to the Équité Association, a crime-fighting organization funded by insurance companies.

Asked Sunday about Anand’s letter, Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria acknowledged more needs to be done to stop auto theft.

One potential solution is bail reform, he said at an unrelated morning news conference in Toronto.

“Let’s fix our justice system so that the penalties for people who steal these vehicles, enter people’s homes at gunpoint, and take cars from people in parking lots are harsher,” he said.

Sarkaria added that the state is pushing for the “toughest penalties” for those trying to regain possession and steal vehicles.

“But it’s important that the federal government steps up, does its part and puts these people behind bars.”

This is a corrected story. An earlier version stated that Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy responded to Anita Anand’s letter. In fact, it was Ontario Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria.

Feature image: iStock.com/