Public Safety Committee on Feb. 26th, 2024

[Celyeste Power]

I know the law enforcement panel is after us, so I would suggest exploring this further with them, given their expertise. However, I would say that I think all these aspects should be on the table to explore.

[The Chair, Liberal, Heath MacDonald]

Thank you, Mr. McKinnon and Ms. Power.

We're moving on now to Ms. Michaud for two and a half minutes.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would like Ms. O'Brien to tell us about Minister Champagne's announcement on the use of high-tech devices.

Is that a good step forward? Will criminal networks find easy ways to get around all this? What do you think?

[Terri O'Brien]

Thank you very much for the question.

I think the announcement from Minister Champagne was a good step forward, in that banning these devices is helpful. However, I would share that there are dozens of these devices. The Flipper device is one that amplifies a signal from a key to a car, which is called a relay attack. Most of the auto thefts we're seeing right now are reprogramming a new key through the OBD port, or it's a CAN bus attack, wherein they just connect into the car's computer technology system.

We're seeing very effective prevention technologies in other jurisdictions such as the U.K., where manufacturers that operate in the U.K. are downloading security patches into their technology systems that prevent the CAN bus or the controller area network from being overcome. These are simple technology solutions that can prevent the cars from being stolen in the first place. I think some of the incentive for the prevention technology innovations we're seeing in the U.K. is due to some insurers in the U.K. deeming some vehicles on our top 10 list to be uninsurable, or their insurance is over 10,000 pounds a year.

I might ask my colleague Ms. Power to speak about how some of those levers are perhaps not available to Canadian insurers, though we're seeing them used quite effectively in the U.K. right now.

[Celyeste Power]

Thank you very much.

I would note that, as an insurance industry, we are very heavily regulated, not only on the federal front but also provincially. Provincially, the regulator tells us what we can sell, how we can sell it, who we can sell it to and for how much.

One rule in place in Ontario and Alberta is a take-all-comers rule or adverse contractual action rule. That means we have to quote every single customer for auto insurance. If you have a high-risk vehicle in the U.K., the insurer might be able to say, “I'm sorry, but no, we're not going to insure you anymore.” In Ontario and Alberta, we are legally mandated to do so.

Individual insurers are working closely with the regulator to send out price signals and push for new rules. However, under law, we're not able to take advantage of that tool, unfortunately.

[The Chair, Liberal, Heath MacDonald]

Mr. Julian, you'll be the last questioner for this round.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Thank you.

Thanks to all the witnesses. You've added a lot of important information.

I want to come back to the issue of manufacturers and what responsibilities they have.

We will be preparing a committee report and will be making a series of recommendations. I think one issue the government hasn't touched on as much as it should is that of manufacturers incorporating security measures into their design or updating that design, allowing car theft to be cut back.

Could each of you set forth—perhaps starting with you, Ms. O'Brien—some recommendations that we can take forward in terms of what manufacturers should be compelled to do in the Canadian market to help break down the increase we've seen in auto thefts?

[Terri O'Brien]

I think the number one thing manufacturers can do is strengthen their security systems through simple solutions, such as software patches or immobilizers. That would prevent the cars from being stolen in the first place.

Think about the broader context of today's conversation. If the vehicles cannot be stolen in the first place, the expense of special prosecutors, port authorities and law enforcement, and the danger to our communities—the carjackings and all those things—will start to come down, because organized crime will no longer be able to exploit Canadians and steal vehicles with the absolute speed—under 60 seconds—that they can today.

I mentioned the U.K. The U.K. is making great strides in terms of the simple technologies their manufacturers are installing to prevent vehicles from being stolen in the first place.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Ms. Power.

[Celyeste Power]

I don't have much further to add.

I understand that the vehicle manufacturers were at the summit, and I understand that they're testifying before this committee, which is good news. I think that they, like us, have a critical role in preventing auto theft. I don't have much to add to Ms. O'Brien's....

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Vording.

[Shawn Vording]

An emerging area within manufacturers is the connected car. Vehicles are generating more of their own data, which is accessible to the manufacturers. That data currently sits with them, and for sure there is information in there that could help mitigate this.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Thank you.

Mr. Clark, do you have anything to add?

[Jason Clark]

No.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Okay. Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Heath MacDonald]

Thank you, Mr. Julian. I appreciate that.

I thank all of you for your testimony here today.

We're going to suspend for five minutes to get ready for our next panel.

Thank you again.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Maybe your suggestion in your question today in QP that we actually ban all roads would solve the vehicle theft problem, like your—

[The Chair, Liberal, Heath MacDonald]

We'll take that into consideration. Thank you, Mr. Motz.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

—climate change minister wants to do.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Let it be read into the record that Conservatives favour axing the roads.

[The Chair, Liberal, Heath MacDonald]

I call this meeting back to order, please.

I would like to welcome our second panel of witnesses.

In person, we have Mr. Weber from the Customs and Immigration Union. By video conference we have, from Peel Regional Police, Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich, and, from the Toronto Police Service, Deputy Chief Robert Johnson. Thank you for being here, all of you.

Up to five minutes will be given for opening remarks, after which we will proceed with rounds of questions.

I now invite Deputy Chief Milinovich to make an opening statement, please.

[Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich, Deputy Chief of Police, Peel Regional Police]

Good afternoon.

Thank you, House committee members. Thank you for including Peel Regional Police in your study of the growing crisis of auto thefts in Canada.

Our police service has been at the forefront of this issue since its onset. Despite these efforts, we continue to have one of the highest per capita rates of stolen vehicles in the country. Last year alone, over 7,000 vehicles were taken from our region. This has become a significant threat to the safety and security of our cities and communities here in Peel, the GTA and on a national and international level.

Canada has become a source country for stolen cars, which is among the top three revenue generators for organized crime and is used to support other criminal enterprises like illegal firearms, human trafficking and drug trafficking, which find their way back to our communities and victimize them again.

Record numbers of people are waking up and walking out to their driveways to find that their vehicles have been stolen. In some cases, they've had that experience multiple times. Others are walking out to parking lots and seeing that their vehicles have been stolen. The reality is that they are more fortunate than people who are experiencing this by someone busting down their door in the middle of the night or taking their vehicle with the use of violence, oftentimes armed.

Over the course of the last two years in Peel Region alone, there were 185 carjackings. Home invasions are now increasing exponentially as well.

The solution to this problem extends well beyond enforcement, but I want to make it clear that we aren't absconding from our responsibilities. In Peel, we have more than doubled our commercial auto crimes team. We have one of the largest investigative auto theft teams in the country. We continue to work with our partners on a number of joint force operations and lead efforts toward creating multisectoral approaches to address this issue. This has resulted in an increased awareness from the community and changes, as we've heard, in the area of insurance. It has resulted in opportunities to advocate for our community at municipal, provincial and federal levels. We need to continue to coordinate this action among all of the relevant stakeholders.

Many of the recommendations you've heard today, which I've had an opportunity to listen to, begin to address and speak to the variety of opportunities we need to take advantage of. That being said, I want to be very specific about what I see as being the two most obvious and quickest solutions that I think will begin to address the problem we're experiencing.

The first is the ports. I have personally visited the ports and was surprised to learn that, despite the number of autos that are being exported out of our country, there were no officers or analysts exclusively assigned to intercepting the export of stolen cars from our country. We need to resource and equip our ports in a way that is commensurate with the pressure and issues we are experiencing.

The second thing I would like to address is a national strategy. This isn't a Peel issue. It's not a greater Toronto issue. This is a national auto theft issue that we are experiencing, and we need a national strategy to respond to it. I understand that Public Safety is developing an action plan. My hope is that it will formally elevate auto theft to a national priority and examine opportunities to legislate tougher sanctions and federal sanctions, which would enhance police abilities to pursue the organized crime groups that are responsible for this.

The reality is that auto theft is no longer just a property crime, but it's still legislated as though it were. It shouldn't be treated that way. Additionally, we need a review of relevant legislation, which would include things like the Customs Act, the Export and Import Permits Act and a variety of other federal legislation.

Again, I believe that a national auto crime strategy that enhances our ability to pursue the organized crime groups that are responsible for this at a national level is required.

Again, our police service appreciates the standing committee's consideration of our recommendations, and I would be happy to answer any questions you have.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Heath MacDonald]

Thank you, Mr. Milinovich.

Now we'll move on to Toronto Police Service's Deputy Chief Johnson, please.

[Deputy Chief Robert Johnson, Deputy Chief of Police, Toronto Police Service]

Good afternoon.

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before the public safety and national security committee.

As we all know, community safety is a shared responsibility. We must work together to combat the organized crime that is impacting our communities. Toronto has experienced a dramatic spike in auto thefts over the last several years, more than anywhere else in Canada. In 2023, there were more than 12,000 vehicles stolen in Toronto alone.

Vehicle theft is an epidemic in this country. Twelve thousand cars amounts to approximately $790 million, and that is the value of the vehicles stolen in Toronto alone this past year. That is about 34 vehicles stolen every day. That is one every 40 minutes.

Just last month, a mother with two children in car seats had her vehicle stolen in a grocery store parking lot. Two young offenders drove those children around for 15 minutes. They are safe now, but this terrorizing criminal activity has to stop.

It leaves people feeling anxious, afraid and victimized while organized criminals get rich. Since 2018, Toronto police have recovered over 46% of stolen vehicles, totalling more than 20,000 vehicles, and we have arrested more than 1,300 offenders and laid over 5,000 related charges.

We know that, like other crimes led by organized crime networks, they do not care about borders or jurisdiction. A violent carjacking in Toronto can end up with an arrest in Hamilton. We know that these stolen vehicles often wind up leaving Toronto and end up sold around the world by organized crime groups. Stealing cars is lucrative. It is quick money with endless demand. With little skill and few consequences, they can steal a vehicle and get cash fast. What we all need to be talking about is the escalation of violence, threats and intimidation, where all sorts of weapons and firearms are being used to steal vehicles.

I am also concerned about the ability of the justice system to deal with repeat offenders. Whether it is a carjacking, a break and enter, or a home invasion, criminals are getting far too brazen in their methods to steal vehicles and are causing residents across Toronto an incredible amount of fear and anxiety. Realtors tell us the demand for homes with garages is rising because of this.

In Toronto, home invasions, break and enters, and auto theft occurrences rose by over 400% in 2023, with a total of 202 incidents. Carjackings have also seen a dramatic rise in Toronto, with 233 occurrences reported in 2023. That’s over 50% of all incidents reported in the GTA. In addition, since the beginning of this year, we've had 17 home invasions—that's double what we had last year at this time—and over 32 carjacking occurrences, which, again, is double what we had year-to-date this time last year.

This is why we are part of the provincial carjacking joint task force, with the support of the Government of Ontario and co-led by the Toronto Police Service and the Ontario Provincial Police. The task force is an excellent example of how working together with other law enforcement agencies and government agencies helps us in these complex investigations to disrupt this criminal element.

I believe we need a national strategy to have real impact on the rising number of auto thefts and the increasing violence. However, this is not just a law enforcement problem. We need to collaborate with all levels of government, along with our partners in private industry. Vehicle manufacturers, port authorities and shipping companies need to work with us to make it harder to steal and transport vehicles. We need to work in a coordinated manner to fight organized crime, stop the violence and keep our communities safe.

We welcome all efforts by manufacturers to better protect vehicles from being stolen and timely support for our investigators so that we can catch offenders and return vehicles to their owners. Police can make the arrests and provide safety tips, but we need others to do their part also.

Now is the time to be bold in developing partnerships with manufacturers, engineering experts and others to harness the rapidly developing technology that lies at the heart of the solution. Making vehicles harder to steal and making ports more secure from exploitation will help us reduce the growing number of carjackings.

The federal government is already playing an important role in bringing law enforcement and the private sector together, as we saw at the federal summit hosted in Ottawa about three weeks ago.

I also believe we need to be bold on justice reforms and work across all sectors to tackle repeat offenders and return a sense of safety to our communities.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak here today. I look forward to working collaboratively with all of you to keep our communities safe.

[The Chair, Liberal, Heath MacDonald]

Thank you, Mr. Johnson.

Go ahead, Mr. Weber, please, from the Customs and Immigration Union.