CAR THEFT ‘EPIDEMIC’
Canada keeps shampoo off jets but not stolen SUV’s off ships
You can’t get a bottle of shampoo larger than 100ml past security on a commercial flight, so how is it that 4,000 pound stolen cars, luxury SUVs or pickup trucks can be shipped across the ocean without detection?
Is it OK for media to ask Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that question? Or should we just blame Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre for daring to do so?
We’re not talking about a tube of toothpaste here or there sneaking by.
Canada has between 90,000 and 105,000 vehicles stolen each year – many of which are now on roads in Europe or Africa through the stolen vehicle cartels.
None of it has ever added up.
But now, finally government called together the stakeholders to Ottawa last Thursday for the National Auto Theft Car Summit.
Better late than never.
“Vehicle theft is an epidemic in this country,” Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw told them.
Halton Reginal Police Chief Steve Tanner, Peel Reginal Police Chief Nish Duraiappah and OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique have said the same.
But the government hasn’t been listening – until now.
“Toronto has experienced a dramatic spike in auto thefts over the last several years – more by far than any other city in Canada,” Demkiw said. “In 2023, there were more than 12,000 vehicles stolen in Toronto alone.”
He said that amounts to 34 vehicles stolen every day, or one every 40 minutes.
A lot of those vehicles are loaded into containers, transported to the Port of Montreal and then shipped abroad while our insurance rates skyrocket.
And no one has an answer for this?
Government can use red light cameras to issue fines to drivers or freeze people’s bank accounts for protesting, but it seems to be stumped when it comes to combatting organized crime. The international crime players manage to stay one step ahead.
While police do make arrests, recover vehicles and dismantle auto theft rings, our justice system grants bail to those charged almost right away.
“We know these stolen vehicles often wind up leaving Toronto, ending up sold around the world by organized criminal groups,” said Demkiw, who was joined at the conference by the deputy chief of the Specialized Operations Command.
“Stealing cars is lucrative. Demand is incredibly high. Criminals migrate towards an easy payday,” said Demkiw. “With little skill, and few consequences, one can steal a vehicle and get cash in return.”
The chief made it very clear he’s seeing a rise in carjackings and home invasions.
“I am very concerned about the escalation of violence, threats and intimidation, where all sorts of weapons and firearms are being used to steal vehicles,” said Demkiw. “I am also concerned about the ability of the justice system to deal with repeat offenders.”
The courts and the federal government have dropped the ball. Victims with tracking devices have watched as their vehicles travel across the ocean, and no one can do anything about it.
Vehicles are being sold offshore with Ontario license plates still attached. Now Trudeau and his after the fact, Band Aid approach has come with $28 million to increase security at the port.
It’s a start but he needs to spend that money wisely.
The truth is this isn’t hard. The technology – from tracking to drones to registration rules that make whoever locks the container responsible for all costs of lost or stolen cargo – is available to stop all of this.
Just listen to Demkiw, Tanner, Duraiappah and Carrique. Let them lock up thieves. When police catch the bad guys, make them pay. Deport them if they aren’t Canadian.
Put modern scanning equipment at the ports or along the train and motor routes that look at every container with the same robust enthusiasm as they did trucker convoy leader Tamara Lich. Treat the real criminals the way they treat political prisoners.
Passing all of the cost onto the manufacturer and the consumers to have to put in extra tracking devices is a cop out.
The government is supposed to keep Canadians safe. This out of control seizing of Canadian assets by out of country crime elements is on the Liberal government. It’s the feds fault.
To fix it, take the same zero tolerance approach that they do at airports when it comes to bottles of shampoo, perfume and nail clippers.
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