MPs Pass Motion to Investigate Soaring Auto Theft for Illicit Exportation

MPs voted unanimously to probe a growing auto theft black market that sees Canadian vehicles stolen and then exported to other countries.

During a meeting of the Commons public safety committee on Oct. 23, Bloc Québécois MP Kristina Michaud put forward a motion to “study car thefts in Canada as well as federal resources to fight crime,” which all members supported.

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Alberta MP Dane Lloyd told the committee this is a “national issue.” He said he had personal experience as a vehicle owner who had his own vehicle stolen. “I did recover it thanks to tracking technology that many companies are putting into their vehicles.”

Ms. Michaud told the committee that 60 percent of those cars stolen in Ontario wind up in the Port of Montréal and are shipped to countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. “We are talking about a thousand thefts a month.”

“Insurance companies have had to pay a billion in claims in the past year,” added Ms. Michaud. “Everyone here knows someone whose car was stolen. The federal government has a direct responsibility.”

Mississauga-Malton, Ontario, Liberal MP Iqwinder Gaheer told the committee that his community seemed to be the car theft capital of Canada.

“The region I am from, Peel Region which includes Mississauga and Brampton, is particularly hard hit. We probably have the highest level of car thefts in the country. This is something my constituents raise with me all the time. I hear it every single day,” he said.