The Canada Border Services Agency admitted this week that it had recovered only a small portion of stolen vehicles believed to have been exported through the Port of Montreal.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, these new figures emerged due to an investigation initiated by the Commons Public Safety committee.“The Agency works closely with police services,” Annie Beauséjour, the Agency’s Quebec director general, said in a statement. “The Agency assesses the risk of all maritime containers to identify high-risk shipments.”The Agency acknowledged it had recovered only 1,038 stolen vehicles destined for export at the Port of Montréal this year. Insurers report more than 42,000 vehicles are stolen annually in Ontario and Québec combined.The Commons committee on October 23 adopted a Bloc Quebecois motion to “study car thefts in Canada as well as federal resources to fight crime.” The Équité Association, an insurance industry group, published a Vehicle Theft Trend Report on June 6, showing vehicle thefts exceeded 70,000 annually across the country. Ontario had the highest number of thefts at 28,000, followed by Québec with 14,000 and Alberta with 13,000.“Sixty percent of cars stolen in Ontario wind up in the Port of Montréal and are shipped to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Europe,” said Bloc MP Kristina Michaud (Avignon-La Mitis, QC). “We are talking about a thousand thefts a month.”“Insurance companies have had to pay a billion in claims in the past year,” said Michaud. “Everyone here knows someone whose car was stolen. The federal government has a direct responsibility.”In 2010, parliament approved Bill S-9 An Act to Amend the Criminal Code. This bill aimed to enhance information sharing between the Canada Border Services Agency and police databases to monitor stolen vehicles intended for export.Follow-up audits revealed that, out of the 1.8 million shipping containers processed throughout the country annually, only a small amount undergo random inspections.“We are on a very thin line,” Jean-Pierre Fortin, then-national president of the Customs and Immigration Union, testified at 2014 Senate National Security committee hearings. “We used to search containers at major marine ports.”Previously, Liberal MP Iqwinder Gaheer (Mississauga-Malton, ON) told the Commons Public Safety committee he considered his community as the car theft capital of Canada.“This is something my constituents raise with me all the time,” said Gaheer. “I hear it every single day.”Conservative MP Dane Lloyd (Sturgeon River-Parkland, AB) said he had a personal interest in the issue. “My vehicle was stolen,” said Lloyd.
The Canada Border Services Agency admitted this week that it had recovered only a small portion of stolen vehicles believed to have been exported through the Port of Montreal.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, these new figures emerged due to an investigation initiated by the Commons Public Safety committee.“The Agency works closely with police services,” Annie Beauséjour, the Agency’s Quebec director general, said in a statement. “The Agency assesses the risk of all maritime containers to identify high-risk shipments.”The Agency acknowledged it had recovered only 1,038 stolen vehicles destined for export at the Port of Montréal this year. Insurers report more than 42,000 vehicles are stolen annually in Ontario and Québec combined.The Commons committee on October 23 adopted a Bloc Quebecois motion to “study car thefts in Canada as well as federal resources to fight crime.” The Équité Association, an insurance industry group, published a Vehicle Theft Trend Report on June 6, showing vehicle thefts exceeded 70,000 annually across the country. Ontario had the highest number of thefts at 28,000, followed by Québec with 14,000 and Alberta with 13,000.“Sixty percent of cars stolen in Ontario wind up in the Port of Montréal and are shipped to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Europe,” said Bloc MP Kristina Michaud (Avignon-La Mitis, QC). “We are talking about a thousand thefts a month.”“Insurance companies have had to pay a billion in claims in the past year,” said Michaud. “Everyone here knows someone whose car was stolen. The federal government has a direct responsibility.”In 2010, parliament approved Bill S-9 An Act to Amend the Criminal Code. This bill aimed to enhance information sharing between the Canada Border Services Agency and police databases to monitor stolen vehicles intended for export.Follow-up audits revealed that, out of the 1.8 million shipping containers processed throughout the country annually, only a small amount undergo random inspections.“We are on a very thin line,” Jean-Pierre Fortin, then-national president of the Customs and Immigration Union, testified at 2014 Senate National Security committee hearings. “We used to search containers at major marine ports.”Previously, Liberal MP Iqwinder Gaheer (Mississauga-Malton, ON) told the Commons Public Safety committee he considered his community as the car theft capital of Canada.“This is something my constituents raise with me all the time,” said Gaheer. “I hear it every single day.”Conservative MP Dane Lloyd (Sturgeon River-Parkland, AB) said he had a personal interest in the issue. “My vehicle was stolen,” said Lloyd.
