Ottawa (Feb 21) – Public Safety and Intergovermental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc today announced a federal investment of $15 million to fight rising auto theft in Canada.
LeBlanc says that $9.1 million of this amount will be extended to provincial, territorial and municipal police forces through the Contribution Program to Combat Serious and Organized Crime (CPCSOC) to increase their capacity to take custody of detained stolen vehicles from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
In addition, 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.
The federal government will also continue to engage its domestic and international partners to ensure a coordinated response to this issue, supported through an investment of $2.4 million.
“Local police services from across the country play a crucial role in combatting auto theft,” LeBlanc stated. “As was highlighted at the recent National Summit on Combatting Auto Theft, collaboration is essential to combatting this crime efficiently. The investment we are making today will enable police services to further strengthen their cooperation.”
Ottawa previously said that it was increasing the capacity of the CBSA by investing $28 million to detect and search shipping containers for stolen vehicles, as well as enhance collaboration on intelligence sharing with partners across the country and internationally to help identify those involved within the supply chain and arrest those who are perpetuating these crimes.
The Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards was also to be updated to ensure they consider technological advancements to deter and prevent auto theft.
Additionally, the feds pledged to examine ing potential amendments to the Criminal Code to further strengthen the legal framework related to auto theft, including by reviewing existing offences and penalties.
At the end of January, a federal investment of $121 million was announced to help prevent gun and gang violence in Ontario, including organized crime and auto theft.
