Transportation minister looks for provinces, territories to collaborate on car thefts

The national proscription curate says nationalist co-operation is needed to adjacent loopholes criminals tin usage to re-sell stolen cars.

Anita Anand’s bureau has sent letters to her provincial and territorial counterparts calling for meetings to sermon the contented of Vehicle Identification Numbers being changed connected stolen cars which are past resold, a process known arsenic “re-vinning” vehicles.

The minister’s bureau says successful the letters that the long-standing Interprovincial Record Exchange tin assistance successful detecting re-vinning, and that each provinces and territories request to enactment afloat successful the system.

Her bureau says provinces and territories request to guarantee the grounds speech exertion they are utilizing is up to day successful bid to pass with different jurisdictions, different imaginable thieves could find ways astir it.

Back successful May, the national authorities unveiled a nationalist program combating car theft which includes much quality sharing among constabulary forces and a moving radical involving each levels of government.

It besides calls for much interventions astatine ports, with the Canada Border Services Agency tasked with expanding searches of shipping containers successful a bid to halt vehicles from being sent overseas.

The minister’s bureau says though determination has been a driblet successful wide thefts, constabulary person reported a emergence successful VINs being changed connected stolen cars.

“Given the value of addressing the contented of re-vinning, I americium asking each provinces and territories to prioritize this contented successful bid to further deter and forestall car theft successful Canada,” Anand writes successful her letter.

“While the long-standing Interprovincial Record Exchange tin assistance successful detecting the re-vinning of vehicles, each provinces and territories request to enactment afloat successful this strategy to adjacent the loophole that is being exploited by criminals to re-sell stolen vehicles wrong Canada.”

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More than 1,900 stolen vehicles were intercepted by the Canada Border Services Agency, the bulk of which were recovered successful Quebec.

Statistics released earlier this period by the Insurance Bureau of Canada amusement much than 4,000 less vehicles were stolen successful the archetypal six months of 2024, compared to the aforesaid play a twelvemonth ago, though the bureau cautioned the numbers are inactive much than doubly what they were 10 years ago.

Much of the auto-theft occupation is centred successful Ontario and Quebec, with stolen vehicles being routed done the Port of Montreal and past shipped overseas.

According to security transgression watchdog Équité Association, 28,550 vehicles were stolen successful Canada successful the archetypal fractional of 2024. The watchdog’s uncovering pointed to a 17 per cent alteration successful thefts from the twelvemonth prior.

More than 70,000 backstage vehicles were stolen crossed Canada past year, with much than 30,000 taken successful Ontario, according to the Équité Association, an anti-crime enactment funded by security companies.