As our members know, Auto Theft has become such a problem that the cries of outrage were finally heard in Ottawa. The Feds held an important Summit in February of 2024 and among many things that followed from that is this report by the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, released in December:

https://tinyurl.com/2sb2wze5

Among the 44 recommendations emerging, some standouts are:

Recommendation 5

That the Government of Canada review existing legislation and regulations, such as the Customs Act, with a view to:

• Enhance compliance with export controls;
• Increase accountability for all partners and facility operators involved in export operations;
• Increase penalties for non-compliance and false reporting; and
• Benefit from international best practices.

Recommendation 10

That the Government of Canada review the export surveillance aspect of the Canada Border Services Agency’s (CBSA) mandate by:

• requiring a minimum percentage of random examinations of export containers at Canadian ports;
• allocating more resources to this aspect of the CBSA’s mandate; and
• introducing legislative amendments and regulations to compel rail and port operators to provide adequate accommodations for the examination of exported containers by CBSA officers.

Recommendation 11

That the government of Canada enhance collaboration between the Canada Border Services Agency and port authorities, rail network, and shipping partners to expand export cargo container examinations,
notably to include urgent, significant, and random deployment of scanning and detection technology in new locations.

Recommendation 12

That the Government of Canada continue to provide adequate resources to the Canada Border Services Agency to maintain their 100% response rate in conducting container examinations when information
is provided by law enforcement agencies.

Recommendation 13

That the Government of Canada invest in combating vehicle theft by:

• Increasing the complement of border officers by hiring new frontline officers and deploying them to ports, rail yards, and intermodal hubs to expand examination capacity in response to intelligence developed by the Canada Border Services Agency and law enforcement;
• Dedicating new resources to intelligence and targeting capabilities specific to stolen vehicles; and
• Identifying and testing new detection technology tools to expand capacity to screen containers for stolen vehicles.

Recommendation 18

That the Government of Canada amend the Customs Act to make changes to the conditions under which containers may be searched and expand the powers of police officers working at ports to open containers when they suspect fraudulent contents.

Recommendation 22

That the Canada Border Services Agency undertake the following measures:

• Verify the vehicle identification number (VIN) by decoding;
• Improve targeting techniques and verification of export declarations;
• Implement automated VIN duplication and national stolen vehicle database checks (Canadian Police Information Centre); and
• Improve analysis of submissions to the Canadian Export Reporting System.

Recommendation 27

That the Government of Canada amend the Criminal Code to provide additional tools for law enforcement and prosecutors to address vehicle theft by:

• Including new offences related to trafficking and exporting stolen vehicles.
• Including new criminal offences related to auto theft involving the use of violence or links to organized crime; possession or distribution of an electronic or digital device for the purposes of committing auto theft; and laundering proceeds of crime for the benefit of a criminal organization.
• Adding a new aggravating factor at sentencing if an offender involved a young person in committing an offence under the Criminal Code.
• Increasing the Criminal Code penalties for motor vehicle theft, such as escalating terms of imprisonment for subsequent offences and increasing the penalties for motor vehicle theft when it has been committed for the benefit of or in association with a criminal organization.

Recommendation 28

Recognizing that the bail system is a joint responsibility between the federal, provincial and territorial governments, that the Government of Canada, in consultation and collaboration with the Provinces and
Territories, review the bail system to reduce recidivism and deter auto theft.

Recommendation 40

That the Government of Canada update and modernize the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards under the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations, to ensure manufacturers include technological advancements to deter and prevent vehicle theft, such as tracking or anti-theft devices, in new vehicles.

Recommendation 42

That the Government of Canada amend the Radiocommunication Act to regulate the sale, distribution, and importation of radio devices used for vehicle theft.

Recommendation 43

That the Government of Canada encourage provincial and territorial governments to take steps to:

• Combat revinning or the use of fraudulent vehicle registrations to re-sell stolen vehicles;
• Ensure the verification of third-party vehicle registration and the physical inspection of problematic Vehicle Identification Numbers take place during registration; and
• Ensure vehicle sellers are required to prove ownership before resale.

Recommendation 44

That the Government of Canada invest and participate in the interprovincial records exchange to improve data sharing across jurisdictions on vehicle registration.

We don’t know, at this time, how many, if any, of these recommendations will be implemented, but the fact these issues are being brought to the forefront is a good thing.

Many of these issues were known only to a select few in the customs and export game and now some obvious systemic problems are being brought to light.

Hopefully this leads to solutions that will make life better for all of us and much worse for criminals.