National Action Plan on Combatting Auto Theft

Introduction

Auto theft is a complex problem that requires manufacturers, insurance companies, shippers, law enforcement agencies and governments to work together to identify solutions. Each partner has a role in making it harder to steal vehicles, recover stolen vehicles, prevent their exportation, and apprehend the perpetrators of these crimes.

Canada is not alone in experiencing a rise in vehicle theft. It is an increasingly transnational criminal phenomenon that requires international and cross-jurisdictional collaboration.

The National Summit on Combatting Auto Theft, held on February 8, 2024, brought together senior officials from federal, provincial and territorial governments, law enforcement and industry representatives. Following the conclusion of the Summit, participants endorsed a Statement of Intent, committing to work together to combat auto theft and to finalizing an action plan.

The National Action Plan on Combatting Auto Theft (Action Plan) outlines actions focused on disrupting, dismantling and prosecuting the organized crime groups behind auto theft. The Action Plan identifies various measures and initiatives that will be carried out by the federal government in cooperation with provincial and territorial governments and their partners, in accordance with their respective roles, priorities and responsibilities. It will be continuously reviewed and updated to be responsive to the evolving tactics employed by criminal networks.

Concerted efforts undertaken to combat auto theft since the beginning of 2024 are showing positive results.

In January 2024, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) liaison officers posted in Italy collaborated with local authorities at an Italian port on the seizure of 251 cars stolen in Canada. In April 2024, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), in collaboration with police forces across Ontario and Quebec, announced the recovery of nearly 600 stolen vehicles from the Port of Montreal. So far this year, CBSA has intercepted over 1,900 stolen vehicles in railyards and ports, already exceeding last year's total. In addition, the RCMP continues to process international notifications and requests received through INTERPOL's stolen motor vehicle database to better track stolen vehicles with international partners. From February to August 2024, the RCMP received 2,310 notifications about Canadian vehicles and 424 international collaboration requests.

This page will be updated to reflect progress made under the Action Plan. The first update is now available, and includes actions taken as of August 2024.

Intelligence or information sharing responsibilities

Canada Border Services Agency

• Enhance customs information and intelligence sharing to support municipal and provincial police forces.
• Engage all partners in the export trade, such as port authorities, shipping lines and rail operators, to develop actionable intelligence on stolen vehicles.
• Engage foreign border services, such as the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Border Five and FRONTEX, for collaboration, best practices and technology solutions.
• Review existing legislation and regulations to identify and reduce barriers to information sharing.

Status as of August 2024

• The CBSA has implemented a request for information protocol to consolidate and expedite the sharing of customs information to police, and have responded to 1,738 requests, as of August 25, 2024.
• Port operators, intermodal facility operators and other business organizations have been engaged to increase awareness of CBSA's enforcement efforts while soliciting their support to address the exploitation of Canada's legitimate trade chain.
• The CBSA has engaged with the Border 5 (CAN, US, UK, AUS, NZ) to solicit best practices and share Canada's Stolen Vehicle export enforcement activities.
• The CBSA, in partnership with the Department of Justice, has started to review its legislative and regulatory frameworks in line with the commitment. 

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

• Deliver Canadian Police College courses on auto theft investigative techniques, to municipal, provincial, and federal levels of law enforcement.
• The RCMP continues to strengthen active international cooperation with foreign law enforcement partners through the RCMP's international network.

Status as of August 2024

• Completed (December 2023 to January 2024): The Criminal Intelligence Service of Canada (CISC), stewarded by the RCMP, developed and released public reports on vehicle theft and organized crime threats.
• The Canadian Police College held a 5-day course for law enforcement personnel on specialized vehicle theft investigative techniques in May. A full class of twenty four (24) investigators from federal, provincial and municipal police services attended. The next course is being held in November 2024. The College also regularly delivers a course on organized crime that includes auto theft investigations as part of the curriculum.

Joint responsibilities of the Canada Border Services Agency and Royal Canadian Mounted Police

• The CBSA and the RCMP continue to be active members of multiple active auto theft operations and joint task forces across the country led with key provincial and municipal police services and will continue to participate in new partnerships as they emerge.

Status as of August 2024

• The CBSA and the RCMP directly support ongoing joint investigative and intelligence teams including Project VECTOR and Project EMISSION.

Public Safety Canada

• Establish and lead a National Intergovernmental Working Group on Auto Theft with federal, provincial, and territorial governments to coordinate actions, monitor progress, and explore new initiatives that may be undertaken at all levels for a multi-faceted approach to combatting auto theft.

Status as of August 2024

• Federal, provincial and territorial officials have been identified as members of the National Intergovernmental Working Group on Auto Theft. The first meeting of the Working Group will occur in September 2024.

Joint responsibilities of the Canada Border Services Agency, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and local police

• Strengthen existing ways of sharing intelligence and information among law enforcement and public safety partners by:
  • Dedicating federal resources to the provincially led Auto Theft Joint Intelligence Group, with key police forces and leveraging private sector collaboration;
  • Using the CISC network, to provide actionable intelligence, and the Canadian Integrated Response to Organized Crime (CIROC), to coordinate national operational approaches to organized crime, including vehicle theft.

Status as of August 2024

• The CBSA has embedded intelligence resources to directly participate in the Auto Theft Joint Intelligence Group (JIG) and regularly collaborates with police across Canada to share intelligence and respond to requests for assistance. To support the sharing of intelligence, the CBSA has responded to 1,738 requests for information as of August 25, 2024.
• The RCMP, via the CISC, continues to share criminal intelligence and information with its law enforcement and public safety partners as appropriate.

Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC)

• Continued efforts to strengthen Canada's Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing (AML/ATF) regime, including supervising implementation of AML/ATF measures and reporting by regulated sectors to FINTRAC, which in turn can lead to useful financial intelligence to address money laundering and proceeds of crime linked to auto-theft, will support overall efforts by law enforcement to address auto-theft in Canada.

Status as of August 2024

• FINTRAC continues to undertake various outreach and engagement activities with businesses, industry associations, provincial regulators, federal departments and regulators, stakeholders and international partners to ensure that they are aware of their obligations and are reporting suspicious activity.
• FINTRAC continues to produce strategic financial intelligence assessments and reports on a range of specific money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion and threats to the security of Canada trends, typologies and mechanisms in order to support the detection, prevention and deterrence of these activities.
• Since April 1, 2024, FINTRAC has produced approximately 20 financial intelligence disclosures to law enforcement in support of their investigations relating to auto theft. FINTRAC was recognized publicly for its contribution to the following auto theft investigations:
  • In April 2024, Project VECTOR resulted in the recovery of 598 stolen vehicles by the OPP and CBSA.
  • In May 2024, Peel Regional Police recovered 369 vehicles worth more than $30 million and laid hundreds of charges under Project ODYSSEY.

Transport Canada

• Encourage provinces and territories to take steps to combat "revinning," or the use of fraudulent vehicle registrations to re-sell stolen vehicles. This could include investments to enable comprehensive data sharing across jurisdictions through the existing Interprovincial Record Exchange (IRE).

Status as of August 2024

• The Minister of Transport has written to his provincial and territorial counterparts to encourage them to take action on combatting fraudulent vehicle registrations.
• The Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA), which includes representatives from all provinces and territories and the federal government, has established a Task Force to examine what steps it could take within its mandate to address issues related to vehicle theft and fraudulent registrations. The CCMTA will deliver a report to the Council of Ministers of Transportation and Highway Safety.

Intervention

Canada Border Services Agency

• Enhance collaboration with port authorities, rail and shipping partners to expand export cargo container examinations, including the deployment of scanning and detection technology in new locations (e.g., rail yards).
• Integrate the use of advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to better target containers with suspected stolen vehicles.
• Invest $28 million to bolster efforts in combatting auto theft by:
  • Hiring new frontline Border Service Officers and deploying them to ports, railyards and intermodal hubs to expand examination capacity in response to intelligence developed by the CBSA and law enforcement.
  • Dedicating new resources to intelligence and targeting capabilities specific to stolen vehicles.
  • Identifying and testing new Detection Technology tools to expand capacity to screen containers for stolen vehicles.
  • Leveraging data from interdictions of stolen vehicles and use AI to predict location of suspected stolen vehicles, as well as complicit entities within the supply chain of the export of stolen vehicles.
• Continue to explore, test and if effective at deterring, procure new detection technologies for improved stolen vehicle interdiction, with a particular focus on existing mobile technology.

Status as of August 2024

• The CBSA has deployed additional scanning technology in the Greater Toronto Area to increase the effectiveness of CBSA's ability to examine cargo containers at area intermodal facilities destined for export.
• The CBSA has developed and deployed improved data analytics and targeting tools to assist in the interdiction of stolen vehicles being exported from Canada.
• The CBSA is evaluating various detection technologies and how to best integrate them into CBSA operations to interdict stolen vehicles. These efforts form the evidence base that informs future decisions to procure technologies to increase capability and capacity of the Agency to detect stolen vehicles.

Joint responsibilities of the Canada Border Services Agency, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and local police

• Ongoing: Increase export examinations at port, rail and intermodal facilities to disrupt the export of stolen vehicles.
• Ongoing: Maintain CBSA's 100% response rate for intelligence received from law enforcement to conduct container examinations.
• Develop and implement a "GPS tracking protocol" for auto theft victims to share location data of stolen vehicles with relevant authorities for safe retrieval.

Status as of August 2024

• The CBSA has established a 24/7 central point of contact for police to coordinate requests to locate vehicles that may be tracked to a marine port or intermodal facility.
• The “GPS tracking protocol” for law enforcement was developed and widely distributed to law enforcement agencies in Canada in June.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

• Ongoing work to respond to international requests about Canadian stolen vehicles on the INTERPOL Stolen Motor Vehicle Database and monitor for trends.

Status as of August 2024

• Completed (February 2024): Connect Canada's stolen motor vehicle records from the Canadian Police Information Centre to INTERPOL's Stolen Motor Vehicle Database.
• The RCMP continues to process international notifications and requests received through INTERPOL's stolen motor vehicle database to better track stolen vehicles with international partners. From February to August 2024, the RCMP received 2,310 notifications about Canadian vehicles and 424 international collaboration requests.

Public Safety Canada

• Invest $9.1 million over three years in municipal and provincial police services to improve their capacity to provide timely referrals, information and actionable intelligence to the CBSA, as well as take custody of stolen vehicles intercepted by CBSA.
• Invest $3.5 million over three years to support INTERPOL in combatting transnational organized vehicle crime.
• Through the National Crime Prevention Strategy, continue investing $51 million per year in community-based prevention initiatives for youth-at-risk for future involvement in the criminal justice system, including to prevent at-risk youth from joining gangs.
• Prioritize new project funding under the Youth Gang Prevention Fund for community-based initiatives that prevent at-risk youth form joining gangs and divert them from future involvement in criminal and anti-social activities, such as youth delinquency, auto theft, substance use and gun violence.
• Continue investing $390 million over five years to support provinces and territories through the Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence to address the increased links between gun and gang violence and auto theft.

Status as of August 2024

• Public Safety Canada is actively engaging with local police where auto theft is prevalent to establish contribution agreements that will allow for improved capacity to provide timely referrals, information, and actionable intelligence to the CBSA, and to contract additional capacity to take custody of detained stolen vehicles from the CBSA. Efforts are being made to finalize contribution agreements by mid-to-late fall 2024.
• Public Safety Canada is actively engaging with INTERPOL to establish a contribution agreement in the mid-to-late fall 2024 to combat transnational organized vehicle crime.
• The National Crime Prevention Strategy is currently supporting 37 community-based crime prevention initiatives, representing an investment of $26 million.

Transport Canada

• Work with public safety partners to identify high-risk Port facilities and conduct targeted security assessments for potential vulnerabilities.
  • Revise and validate security plans for high-risk container facilities.

Status as of August 2024

• High-risk port facilities have been identified and targeted Security Assessments have started.
• Once the Security Assessments are completed, the security plans for the ports will be revised as required.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)

• Leverage existing programs to support innovation solutions for vehicle protection.

Status as of August 2024

• Through the Innovative Solutions Canada program, ISED has launched a vehicle theft prevention (VTP) challenge in August 2024. The Challenge is sponsored by Transport Canada in collaboration with Public Safety Canada and the RCMP.
• Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises that are successful in the challenge may receive a grant to support the development of early-stage, pre-commercial anti-theft technologies.

Legislation, regulations, and governance

Justice

• Amend the Criminal Code to provide additional tools for law enforcement and prosecutors to address auto theft. These include:
  • New criminal offences related to auto theft involving the use of violence or links to organized crime; possession or distribution of an electronic device for the purposes of committing auto theft; and laundering proceeds of crime for the benefit of a criminal organization.
  • A new aggravating factor at sentencing if an offender involved a young person in committing an offence under the Criminal Code.
• Examine effectiveness of legislative tools to respond to auto theft and develop new responses if required.

Status as of August 2024

• On April 16, 2024, the federal government introduced Bill C-69, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament, which received Royal Assent on June 20, 2024.
• Bill C-69 created two new motor vehicle offences that target violence used, threatened, or attempted in the commission of the offence and thefts with links to organized crime. This includes a new offence of laundering proceeds of crime (including stolen vehicles) for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization, and a new aggravating factor at sentencing applicable to an adult offender who involves a young person in the commission of an offence, including auto theft.
• To address more sophisticated forms of auto theft, Bill C-69 also created two new offences targeting the possession and distribution of electronic devices suitable for committing auto theft.
• To support investigations and prosecutions, Bill C-69 made wiretap warrants and DNA orders available for the existing auto theft offences and the new offences created under Bill C-69.
• Bill C-69 increased maximum penalties for carjackings, meaning auto theft with violence or with the threat of violence, from 10 to 14 years.
• These new provisions came into force on July 20, 2024 and are now law. 

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

• Amend the Radiocommunication Act to regulate the sale, distribution, and importation of radio devices used for auto theft.

Status as of August 2024

• Amendments to the Radiocommunication Act were completed in June 2024.
• ISED has conducted a public consultation on this topic – comments were accepted until August 12, 2024.

Canada Border Services Agency

• Review existing legislation and regulations, such as the Customs Act, with a view to:
  • enhancing compliance with export controls
  • increasing accountability for all partners and facility operators involved in export operations
  • increasing penalties for non-compliance and false reporting
  • benefiting from international best practices
  • assessing legal authorities to ensure export regulations are effective for law enforcement.
• Introduce legislative amendments and regulations to compel rail and port operators to provide adequate accommodation for the examination for exported goods by CBSA officers.

Status as of August 2024

• The CBSA, in partnership with the Department of Justice, has started to review its legislative and regulatory frameworks.

Transport Canada

• Modernize the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to ensure they consider technological advancements to deter and prevent auto theft.

Status as of August 2024

• Transport Canada published a “Let's Talk Transportation” consultation on updating Canada's theft protection options for new vehicles. The consultation included questions about paths forward regarding amendments to the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations.
• The comment period concluded on July 19, 2024. Transport Canada is currently reviewing the feedback received.