Parliamentary Committee Notes: Measures to Combat Vehicle Theft in Canada
Issue
Funding sought by Public Safety Canada (PS) in Supplementary Estimates (B) 2024-2025 includes $45.8 million over three years starting in 2024-2025 for the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and PS to combat auto theft.
Proposed Response
- The government’s National Action Plan to Combat Auto Theft (the Action Plan) outlines steps we are taking to disrupt, dismantle and prosecute organized crime.
- It builds upon the successes and collaborative efforts with our provincial, territorial, municipal and industry partners following the National Summit on Combatting Auto Theft held in February 2024.
- The first quarterly update of the Action Plan was released on October 16, 2024. Thanks to the sustained efforts of many federal departments and agencies, as well as external partners, Canadians are able to see the tangible progress made in recent months to combat vehicle theft.
- From the swift statutory updates implemented in the past few months to the cross-jurisdictional law enforcement actions undertaken by the RCMP, the CBSA and their partners, it can be said that the implementation of the Action Plan initiatives is progressing well and already having a positive impact on the ground.
- Early national auto theft trends for 2024 show a 17 per cent decline in auto theft in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year. The Insurance Bureau of Canada also reported a decrease of 19 per cent in auto theft related claims during the first six months of the current calendar year.
- That being said, we know that criminal networks are quick to adapt, and that is why the Government will continue to work actively with all our partners to ensure a comprehensive and agile response to this evolving criminal trend.
- As you know, earlier this year, I had the pleasure of announcing federal investments of $45.8 million over three years on a cash basis ($30.8M for CBSA and $15.0M for PS), starting in 2024-25, to support key initiatives that are currently being advanced by both PS and CBSA.
- Specifically, the $15.0 million over 3 years allocated to PS (including EBP, PSPC, SSC) will allow the Department to further a series of measures along the following streams:
- First, $9.1 million will permit the establishment of contribution agreements to support police of local jurisdiction in Ontario and Quebec to improve their capacity to provide timely referrals, information and actionable intelligence to the CBSA, as well as take custody of stolen vehicles intercepted by the CBSA.
- Second, $3.5 million to support INTERPOL in combatting transnational organized vehicle crime by strengthening member states law enforcement agencies capacity to identify and recover stolen vehicles abroad; and,
- Finally, $2.4 million will allow PS officials to pursue engagements with domestic and international partners. This includes actions such as the standing up of the National Intergovernmental Working Group on Auto Theft with federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) partners, which met earlier this fall to ensure a coordinated response to auto theft.
- The CBSA will receive $30.8 million on a cash basis broken down as follows:
- $5.8 million over three years to enhance the capacity of the CBSA’s intelligence programs to share information with partners and combat stolen vehicle export;
- $3.2 million over three years to enhance the CBSA’s capacity in the Greater Toronto Area Region by adding front-line border services officers to examine rail shipments containing suspected stolen vehicles prior to their movement to a port of export such as Montreal;
- $5.4 million over three years to enhance the CBSA’s examination capacity by adding front-line border services officers to increase the CBSA’s export examination capacity in the Quebec, Atlantic, and Pacific Regions;
- $6.7 million over three years to explore the use of and acquire detection technology in disrupting the stolen vehicle continuum;
- $7.0 million over three years to conduct foundational work to develop data science solutions and visualizations, as well as to explore a data-driven intelligence response to support information sharing across the Public Safety portfolio and enhance the existing export compliance dashboard with intelligence-specific capabilities;
- $2.1 million over three years to review existing legislation and regulations to identify gaps in export reporting requirements and information sharing with partner agencies; and
- $0.6 million over three years for CBSA force generation costs.
Financial Implications
- This Supplementary Estimates B proposal is seeking to access a total of $13.2 million in budgetary expenditures (PS and CBSA), with a total of $7.8 million in Vote 1 operating, $1.2 million in Vote 5 Capital (CBSA) and $4.2 million in Vote 5 G&C (PS) appropriations. An additional $1.8 million is being accessed for centrally managed funds ( e.g. employee benefit plans and accommodation costs)
- PS is seeking to access a total of $4.8 million in budgetary expenditures, with a total of $0.6 million in Vote 1 operating and $4.2 million in Vote 5 G&C appropriations.
- CBSA is seeking to access a total of $8.4 million in budgetary expenditures, with a total of $7.2 million in Vote 1 and $1.2 million in Vote 5 Capital appropriations.
Background
An estimated 90K cars annually (or one car every six minutes) are stolen in Canada. This results in approximately $1.2B in annual costs to Canadian insurance policy-holders and tax payers.
Auto theft is viewed as low risk with high profit, and thieves often coordinate a multi-step process to track desirable, newer models of SUVs or trucks from public spaces to owners' homes where they use sophisticated electronic devices to gain access to the vehicle. The theft typically happens at night and can take only a few seconds. Stolen vehicles are then either exported or dismantled for their parts, like catalytic converters that can be worth $800 to $1,200 alone.
According to Équité Association, a national not-for-profit organization that supports Canadian insurers to fight fraud, Quebec and Ontario had the highest number of vehicle thefts in 2023 with more than 7.8K and 15K vehicles, respectively, stolen during the first six months. In 2022, rates of vehicle theft rose by around 50% in Quebec and 48.3% in Ontario compared to the previous year.
Auto theft is not always just about stealing a vehicle from someone's driveway. Organized crime groups are increasingly using the export of stolen vehicles as a means of transnational money laundering, as compensation for other illicit commodities such as drugs and as part of insurance fraud.
While a downward trend has been observed in the first half of the year, rates of vehicle theft are expected to increase as organized crime groups become more skilled in sustaining their revenue flow from stolen vehicles.
Public Safety Canada
The Government of Canada is investing $15 million over three years to support law enforcement agencies’ work to combat auto theft through Public Safety Canada’s (PS) Contribution Program to Combat Serious and Organized Crime (CPCSOC). PS is actively engaging with police of jurisdiction where auto theft is prevalent to establish contribution agreements that will allow for improved capacity to provide timely referrals, information and actionable intelligence to the CBSA and to contract additional capacity to take custody of detained stolen vehicles from the CBSA. Efforts are made to finalize contribution agreements by mid-to-late fall 2024.
$9.1 million will be shared between the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec to enter into multi-year, bilateral contribution agreements to improve their capacity to provide timely referrals, information and actionable intelligence to the CBSA, as well as take custody of stolen vehicles intercepted by CBSA.
To enhance information sharing and investigative tactics to identify and retrieve stolen vehicles and parts around the world, INTERPOL’s joint transnational vehicle crime project will receive $3.5 million over three years. PS is actively engaging with INTERPOL to establish a contribution agreement in the mid to late fall 2024.
In addition, the Government of Canada will continue to engage its domestic and international partners to ensure a coordinated response to this issue, supported through an investment of $2.4 million. Within Canada, federal, provincial and territorial officials have been identified as members of the National Intergovernmental Working Group on Auto Theft. The first meeting of the Working Group will occur in the late summer/early fall timeframe.
Canada Border Services Agency
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) provides critical support to law enforcement partners to disrupt, investigate and ultimately prosecute these crimes. Upfront, preventative and investigative work—within Canada, ahead of reaching the border—is imperative to reduce auto theft overall. The CBSA counts on police to provide timely referrals and intelligence, to take swift possession of stolen vehicles, and to successfully prosecute cases to stem vehicle theft at the source. In addition, the CBSA also performs searches based on its own intelligence.
The Government of Canada is increasing the capacity of the CBSA by investing $30.8 million on a cash basis to detect and search shipping containers for stolen vehicles, as well as enhance collaboration on investigations and intelligence sharing with partners across Canada and internationally. This includes exploring detection technology solutions and the use of advanced analytical tools. The CBSA has established a 24/7 central point of contact for police of jurisdiction (POJs) to coordinate requests to locate vehicles that may be tracked to a marine port or intermodal facility. The “GPS tracking protocol” for auto theft victims has been developed and was widely distributed to law enforcement agencies in Canada in June 2024.
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