GOVERNMENT OF CANADA INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO TACKLE AUTO THEFT AND PROPERTY CRIME

April 21, 2009

Langley MP Mark Warawa says the legislation introduced today by Justice Minister Rob Nicolson is “the best way to fight gangs and organized crime; by disrupting the criminal enterprises they depend on.” The new legislation tackles property theft, including the serious crimes of auto theft and trafficking in property that is obtained by crime.

“Our Government is cracking down on auto theft,” says Warawa, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment. Trafficking in stolen property, along with other for-profit criminal activities such as drug trafficking and fraud, has been identified as a primary activity for organized crime. Auto theft, one form of property crime, impacts more individual Canadians and businesses than any other.

“As a former loss-prevention officer for ICBC, I know how serious, and costly, auto theft is; more than $1 billion per year,” says Warawa. “In fact, I introduced the legislation in 2005 which was passed, making it mandatory for all new vehicles made after 2007 to come with anti-theft devices as standard equipment.”

“This proposed legislation will give our law enforcement authorities and the courts better tools to fight this kind of crime, along with the entire range of activities involved in the trafficking of all types of stolen or fraudulently obtained property.”

The legislation is aimed at tackling property crime in general, but in particular the serious crime of auto theft which often involves organized crime. The proposed legislation would:

create a separate offence of "theft of a motor vehicle", which would carry a mandatory prison sentence of 6 months for conviction of a third or subsequent indictable offence;
establish a new offence for altering, destroying or removing a vehicle identification number (VIN).
make it an offence to traffic in property obtained by crime; and
make the possession of such property for the purpose of trafficking an offence.

In addition, these amendments would provide for the application of customs powers to allow the Canada Border Services Agency to identify and prevent stolen property from leaving the country, thus providing a means to address the problem of the exportation of stolen vehicles from Canada by organized crime.

“The movement of stolen property through Canada’s borders, especially automobiles, is a profitable enterprise for organized crime,” said Minister Nicholson. “This law would expressly prohibit the importation or exportation of property obtained by crime, thereby giving our border security officers the authority they need to identify and detain stolen and other illegally obtained property and keep our borders secure.”