Government of Canada announces federal investment to combat export of stolen vehicles

OTTAWA, ON, Feb. 7, 2024 /CNW/ - Today, the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, announced a federal investment of $28 million to tackle the export of stolen vehicles.

With this new funding, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will have more capacity to detect and search containers with stolen vehicles, as well as further enhance collaboration and information sharing with partners across Canada and internationally to identify and arrest those who are perpetrating these crimes. The CBSA will also test available detection technologies that could support the work of border services officers who examine and intercept shipping containers to be exported from Canada with stolen vehicles. This includes exploring the use of advanced analytical tools, such as artificial intelligence.

The CBSA provides critical support to law enforcement partners to disrupt, investigate and prosecute these crimes. The leadership of these partners and their upfront, preventative and investigative work ? within Canada and ahead of reaching our borders ? is imperative to reduce auto theft overall.

Auto theft is a growing challenge in Ontario, Quebec and across the country. It increasingly involves organized crime groups, and the proceeds of these thefts are used to fund other illegal activities. There is no single solution to this complex problem. That is why the Government of Canada is committed to using the tools and authorities it has as well as to work closely with other orders of government and private industry. Only through coordinated cooperation and ideas from across jurisdictions will we see results.

Building on today's announcement, the Government of Canada is welcoming leaders from all orders of government, industry and law enforcement to Ottawa tomorrow for the National Summit on Combatting Auto Theft. This Summit is an opportunity to take stock of the scope and scale of the auto theft issue in Canada, identify solutions and further collaborate on ways to address it.

The Government of Canada is committed to combatting serious and organized crime, reducing gun and gang violence and keeping our communities safe, as demonstrated by the recent announcement to provide federal support to prevent crime and combat auto theft in Ontario.

"Auto theft is a complex problem, and tackling it requires all partners to do their part. With this investment, our government is acting to prevent stolen cars from leaving the country and support the work of our border officers. I look forward to continuing the discussion with partners on further actions we can take as part of our joint efforts to combat auto theft at tomorrow's Summit."

- The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs

• While investigations into auto theft are led by local police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), Sûreté du Québec (SQ), and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) are working together in integrated task forces to target organized crime, including those groups involved in stolen vehicles.
• The CBSA responds to 100% of referrals from police of jurisdiction to examine outbound containers at points of export that may contain stolen vehicles and identify criminal activity within the supply chain.
• Nationally, the CBSA has increased its efforts, intercepting 463 stolen vehicles in 2018 to more than 1,800 interceptions of stolen vehicles in 2023. The CBSA's actions have resulted in a 290% increase in stolen vehicle seizures over the past five years.
• The CBSA facilitates two-way trade of hundreds of billions of dollars each year, including the movement of millions of sea containers. Its resources are strategically allocated to respond to the latest threats and service needs at our ports of entry. This includes resources dedicated to the examination of out-bound containers in both ports and railyards.
• The majority of stolen vehicles exported are destined for Africa and the Middle East. Some stolen vehicles also remain in Canada, enabling other crimes to be committed with the vehicles.
• Canada has strong laws in place to address auto theft at various stages of the crime. These include offences that address conduct that precedes the theft, the theft itself, possession and trafficking of stolen property, and tampering with Vehicle Information Numbers (VINs). Offense-related property and proceeds of crime can also be confiscated under the Criminal Code.
• The Criminal Code also includes comprehensive laws to target organized crime, including specific offences and enhanced investigative tools and enhanced sentencing of offences for violent acts including assault, assault with a weapon, intimidation and the use of a weapon (e.g., firearm) in the commission.
• In 2023, the Government of Canada announced an extension and expansion of the ITAAGGV program, with $390 million over five years through the Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund to provinces and territories for a variety of initiatives, including support for law enforcement and prevention programs.
• ITAAGGV investments are complemented by the $250 million Building Safer Communities Fund (BSCF). First announced in March 2022, the BSCF provides funding directly to municipalities and Indigenous communities to support local initiatives that prevent gun and gang violence and help young people make good choices.

The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, announced a federal investment of $28 million over three years to strengthen the Canada Border Services Agency's (CBSA) capacity to conduct investigative and enforcement work at our borders and to further support CBSA in working closely with law enforcement, other orders of government and jurisdictions to intercept stolen vehicles and identify criminal activity within the supply chain.

With this new funding, the CBSA will have more capacity to detect and search containers for stolen vehicles, as well as further enhance collaboration and information sharing with partners across Canada and internationally to identify and arrest those who are perpetrating these crimes. The CBSA will also test available detection technologies that could support the work of border services officers who examine and interdict shipping containers to be exported from Canada with stolen vehicles.

This investment will:

• Increase the CBSA's export examination capacity. The Agency's role in the interdiction of stolen vehicles is the last line of defence before stolen vehicles are exported from Canada. Over the past three years, roughly 70 percent of legally exported vehicles from Canada are laden on board ships at the Port of Montreal, where the number of suspected stolen vehicle interdictions doubled from 1,769 between 2018-2020 to 3,145 between 2021-2023, as a result of CBSA efforts. Additional border services officers will be deployed to increase exportation examination capacity.
• Enhance the capacity of the CBSA's intelligence program, which plays a significant role in collecting and disseminating actionable intelligence across the country. By investing in this area, the Agency will enhance its ability to receive and act on information from local police across Canada, and produce intelligence that will result in the identification and examination of containers of interest for suspected stolen vehicles.
• Enhance the CBSA's capacity in the Greater Toronto Area to examine rail shipments containing suspected stolen vehicles prior to their movement to a port of export such as Montreal. The movement of stolen vehicles to marine ports for illegal export is a complex and multi-staged process. Typically, after a vehicle is stolen, it may or may not be concealed and altered, placed for observation, receive fraudulent documentation, be transported to a port, and finally, containerized and exported. The CBSA will use border services officers to increase the Agency's ability and responsiveness to examine and detain suspected stolen vehicles in the GTA rail yards, and transfer stations under customs control.
• Provide additional technical resources and capital funding to the CBSA to support the exploration and testing of detection technology solutions, including advanced analytical tools such as artificial intelligence. Given the volume of commercial shipments to and from Canada each year, it is not practical to manually inspect each shipment, especially since the vast majority contain legitimate and properly declared goods and we must not slow these down. More detection technology would offer the CBSA potential to detect and mitigate risks while realizing efficiencies.
• Explore how new and existing data could be used to support border activities. This will increase CBSA's capacity to use historical and current export data, and develop predictive analytics, data mining capacity, monitoring of patterns, trends and inform business intelligence that can influence decision making and risk management.
• Build the CBSA's policy and program capacity required to guide, support and coordinate investments to interdict suspected stolen vehicles in Canada. This will allow the CBSA to: monitor performance and report on the effectiveness of all of the activities, in order to allocate operational resources as required; examine and assess the need for legislative and regulatory changes, that could enhance the interdiction of stolen vehicles over the duration of this initiative, and ongoing.

The CBSA facilitates two-way trade of hundreds of billions of dollars each year, including the movement of millions of sea containers. Its resources are strategically allocated to respond to the latest threats and service needs at our ports of entry. This includes resources dedicated to the examination of out-bound containers in both ports and railyards.

• Over 500 Stolen Cars Recovered
• CBSA prevents 72 stolen vehicles from being smuggled out of Port of Montreal
• Government of Canada announces federal support to prevent crime and combat auto theft in Ontario
• Government of Canada Announces National Summit on Combatting Auto Theft
• Justice and Public Safety Ministers conclude productive meeting focused on joint priorities
• Government announces $390 million to help stop crime and violence
• Government takes action to prevent gun violence with $250 million Building Safer Communities Fund

SOURCE Canada Border Services Agency