The good news is there hasn’t been a significant rise in auto theft across Halton in the first few months of 2024. However, despite the numbers levelling off, the “seeming epidemic of car theft” continues.
To that end, Halton regional council unanimously passed a motion calling for the federal government to enhance security measures against auto theft.
“It's an important issue. It's probably single-handedly the most talked about issue with respect to public safety that we deal with in Halton Region on an ongoing basis,” said Oakville regional councillor Jeff Knoll, as the mover of the motion, at last week’s council meeting.
Knoll, who also serves as chair of the Halton Police Board, acknowledged some progress made by the federal government in tackling the issue.
“But they've just not gone far enough and they can do a lot more in order to really get to the heart of (the) auto theft epidemic that's happening in this country and particularly in the GTA,” Knoll said.
In Halton, auto thefts surged from 500 incidents in 2017 to 1,701 in 2023, an increase of more than 240 per cent.
The resolution proposes several measures, including:
- Expanding the use of advanced scanning and X-ray technologies across major Canadian ports and transportation hubs;
- Reinstating dedicated port police forces to bolster security and enforcement at critical locations;
- Reviewing and revising federal policies to enforce stricter penalties for auto theft;
- Increasing funding and resources for the Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA) and related federal agencies;
- Increasing regulations on auto manufacturers to update anti-theft standards;
- Addressing bail reform concerning auto theft cases.
Knoll said that auto theft is “costing our economy a billion dollars or more a year.”
“I think we have to keep the pressure up because our constituents are demanding it and we really need to take action,” he added.
Oakville Mayor Rob Burton, who seconded the motion, lamented the security neglect at the Port of Montreal, a major gateway for stolen vehicles.
“We've managed to create circumstances that have vaulted us into world fame as the car theft capital of the world,” said Burton, citing a recent BBC article that highlighted the issue and detailing the experience of a Milton resident in dealing with back-to-back auto thefts.
“We really need the federal government to make the necessary investments and raise this issue to the level of priority that it really needs so that we can stop our climb in Interpol's rankings among the world's top 10 countries for stolen vehicles. That is not a status we want,” Burton said.
The resolution will be circulated to the Minister of Public Safety, the Prime Minister, the Premier of Ontario, and various provincial and federal organizations and agencies.