QUESTION PERIOD — Public Safety
National Summit on Combatting Auto Theft
February 8, 2024
I, too, want to talk about auto theft, but from an ex-police officer’s perspective.
First of all, the police know a good deal about auto theft rings. Officers know how to deal with minors who steal cars. They know how vehicles are being dismantled here or exported, primarily through the port of Montreal.
Holding a national summit on the subject today is basically an attempt to hide incompetence and delays in taking meaningful action. What’s the point of police officers arresting car thieves in Canada? If auto theft is important enough to warrant holding a national summit, can anyone explain why our Canadian laws allow judges to wait until the third conviction to impose a minimum sentence of six months in prison? Why has nobody ever been sentenced to the 10-year maximum for auto theft, which came into force in 2010?
Thank you for the question and for highlighting the importance of today’s summit. The government, in consultation with all the stakeholders, is considering additional measures. Significant penalties are set out in the Criminal Code. Enforcement of this provision, as you know, is often, if not usually, a provincial responsibility.
That said, as has been announced, the Department of Justice is currently considering amendments to the Criminal Code to ensure that changes can be made to give it more teeth when it comes to convictions for auto theft.
