Representing Ottawa at the Summit on Auto Thefts

Newsletter: February 2, 2024

I have been loudly advocating, like on CFRA, that we need to better address vehicle thefts for Barrhaven.  I am very happy to announce that as a result of my engagement at Police Services Board, the Solicitor General, our local MPs and the Ministers of Public Safety, innovation, and transportation, I will be leading the Ottawa delegation as the Deputy Mayor along with Chief Stubbs of the Ottawa Police. If you are interested in some of the other current media on this topic, you can check out a CBC article, a CTV news segment, and my latest delegation to the Police Services Board here.

Newsletter: February 8, 2024

This week I attended the National Summit on Auto Thefts as Deputy Mayor. I was happy to chat with CTV morning beforehand and my call to action at that meeting was to: Develop an interagency team approach, codify a VIN program/improved system of tracking, increase federal funding for auto theft law enforcement, improve technological defenses, and to increase port scrutiny. It was encouraging to see so many Canadian leaders, both in government and business, come together to review what an all-of-Canada solution to Auto-thefts can look like. As a first step, I believe Thursday’s summit was successful in identifying the scope of the problems we face, but now it is time for more concrete action. To make Thursday a success, next steps should include tangible policy and funding announcements not more future meetings. I was glad to see commitments from the Federal government for both more resources for CBSA officers to strengthen security at our ports and to address necessary justice reforms to criminalize possession of illegal cloning technology.  However, if this crisis is going to be addressed we need further commitments – to solidify our interagency processes, and to resource border security operations.  Also, while I appreciate the leadership I saw from our Federal, Provincial, and policing partners, there is more work that needs to be done by the private sector, such as enabling more anti-theft hardware/software into the manufacturing and after-market process, and better co-ordination with the insurance sector and VIN registration. 

Finally, I don’t want to lose track of the real villains of this story: international organized crime. It was eye opening to hear on Thursday the degree to which Canada is being targeted by international gangs who are happily exploiting our youth to sell stolen Canadian vehicles across the globe. The billions of dollars they are extracting from stolen vehicles is going directly into drugs, human trafficking and international terrorism. I am heartened to see judicial reforms that will make auto theft more difficult, but I believe there is more that needs to be done to prevent the willful blindness that enables the transnational aspect of this criminal enterprise.  Not only does the vehicle theft violate our sense of safety and our community, but the human trafficking, drug running, and increasing violent crime activities also grow with this cancer on our community.  I am committed to addressing all aspects of crime in our community to the best of my ability.   

I leveraged the opportunity to engage with many stakeholders and to set up follow up opportunities with many agencies, including: the Mayor of Montreal, the Montreal Port Authority, CBSA, numerous auto manufacturers and insurance representatives and Chief Stubbs was able to connect with dozens of police and security agency executives.  I plan to follow up with several of these stakeholders at the Port of Montreal next month.  You can read my entire thought piece here and you can also find some of them where I have spoken on the topic on CFRA and CBC.

What can you do to prevent your vehicle from being stolen?

1. Keep your vehicle locked;

2. If you have a garage, use it;

3. Consider investing in an after-market immobilizer (your dealer should be able to give you information on warrantee compliance and insurance benefits);

4. Consider investing in a GPS locator(s) so that if your vehicle is stolen, you can track its location and provide that to authorities;

5. Consider a steering wheel locking device (club/cable) which would slow down theft;

6. Research the list of least stolen vehicles and consider one when making that next purchase;

7. Consider investing in a home video system that could provide evidence in the case of a theft;

8. Join a hyper-local social media group or consider a neighbourhood watch group for your street so that atypical behaviours are known, communicated and reported.

This was a busy week for auto theft but getting all parties on the same page and fostering collaboration to address this magnitude of an issue is a crucial first step.

Providing an update an the police services board meeting: March 1, 2024

This week I delegated at the Police Services Board with a recap of the numerous Federal and Provincial announcements that followed the national summit on auto thefts. There have been a number of significant and impactful policy improvements announced but I remain concerned about the lack of police presence here in Barrhaven and the possibility that as organized crime adapts to these changes, that their methods become more violent, such as what Toronto is attempting to deal with. I was able to follow up with Brian Kingston, CEO Canadian Auto Manufacturers Association, Member of Parliament Yasir Naqvi, and Dan Service, the principal at VIN Verification Services.  The goal of these meetings was to reinforce the need for effective action and policy measures from other levels of government as well as private industry.