With one car being stolen every three minutes in Canada, Parliament is working to close loopholes in the Criminal Code in an effort to make a dent in this prevalent area of crime.
Conservative MP Andrew Scheer's private member's bill dealing with auto theft as a separate offence is currently before the Senate. And Bill C-53, a government bill covering auto theft within the larger category of property crimes, would amend the Criminal Code to strengthen car theft laws.
In an interview with The Epoch Times, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said the bills will complement each other. The government bill targets 20 per cent of organized crime and big business involving car thefts and related criminal activities.
"Any attempt to alter or destroy or remove a vehicle identification number will be a crime in this country; and anyone who knowingly sells, transports or delivers stolen goods will be charged criminally," Nicholson says.
The legislation would also give the Canada Border Services Agency the authority to prevent stolen vehicles from leaving the country.
"Up to this point in time they would seize goods that are prohibited, but automobiles are not prohibited goods. So they will be given the ability to crack down on individuals who are exporting cars or parts out of the country," says Nicholson.
While announcing the new legislation in Winnipeg last week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said it isn't always high-end vehicles that are stolen.
"And contrary to popular opinion, it's not the luxury sedans, sports cars and SUVs that make the ten most stolen list. In fact, a minivan is the vehicle most likely to be stolen, the kind many Canadians depend on."
Statistics Canada says police reported more than 160,000 stolen vehicles last year. Even though the rate of auto theft has been declining since 1996 with a further fall of 7 per cent last year, it is still 56 per cent higher than two decades ago.
Manitoba continues to have the highest rate of stolen vehicles of any province in the country. And at 334 per cent above the national average, Winnipeg has earned the dubious distinction as the Canadian capital for auto theft.
Rick Dubin, Vice-president of investigative services for the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) says he's very pleased with the legislation because car theft is a "high profit, low-risk activity that's a definite threat to the safety and security of Canadians."
Auto theft costs the insurance industry an estimated $600 million, and Canadians fork out more than a billion dollars annually in total for auto theft, including emergency services, police and court costs. This translates to higher premiums for consumers.
Dubin says IBC has believed for some time that the theft of high-end vehicles not only funds organized crime but also terrorist operations.
"We have had across this country numerous deaths and serious injuries as a result of auto theft which clearly supports organized crime and even funds terrorist operations around the world."
While anti-theft devices and programs have resulted in a general decline in auto theft, Dubin says the involvement of organized crime has grown.
"There's been a significant increase in the involvement of organized auto theft in Canada. We know that because the recovery rates of vehicles continues to decline."
In 2006, 38,398 vehicles were stolen in Ontario and 38,821 in Quebec. In the past, says Dubin, IBC recovered 90 per cent of Ontario's stolen vehicles, but today it's only 70 per cent. The recovery rate in Quebec is only about 50 per cent.
IBC law enforcement in Quebec has identified "several large chop shop operations in possession of stolen vehicles, and Montreal has a major port for the export of stolen vehicles," says Dubin.
Toronto, Montreal, Halifax and Vancouver are the main cities from where stolen vehicles leave Canada for export markets around the world. Vehicles are "re-VINed" to mask the VIN (vehicle identification number), says Dubin, "so it won't be detected on the stolen vehicle list in the Canadian Police Information Centre."
As a result of IBC's effort, the government has made electronic immobilizers mandatory for all new cars. However, Dubin says "even if you have installed the mobilizer, if they got your keys, they got your car."
Twenty per cent of vehicle thefts occur because people leave the keys in the ignition and the car running while they grab a quick coffee or while letting their car warm up in the driveway in winter.
IBC investigates and works with law enforcement in foreign countries and their customs officials to have Canadian cars returned. Stolen Canadian cars go to Nigeria, Ghana, the Middle-east, Eastern Europe and China.
"We just got a number of vehicles that were stolen back from China," says Dubin.
While a 2006 study in the Journal of Youth Studies argues that stealing cars is a predominantly gendered (male) marginalized youth crime, Nicholson disagrees.
"It's not just a young person's crime. Organized crime is committed by people of all ages…it cuts across all ages and ethnic groups."
Nicholson says he has no problem with the maximum 14-year prison term attached to the government bill "because you give discretion then of course to the judge to make sure that the [sentence] fits the crime."
"We're updating the law so it covers everybody."
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