Ontario spending $51M over 3 years to tackle auto theft

Ontario is spending $51 million over three years to try to fight auto theft, which the government says has increased 14 per cent in the last year alone.

Solicitor General Michael Kerzner says the measures are aimed at dismantling organized crime groups and bringing criminals to justice.

Part of the money is set to go toward creating an organized crime and auto theft team led by the Ontario Provincial Police.

"To the criminal networks and organizations, we have a message for you. We are putting you on notice. We will be putting you out of business," said Kerzner.

The new team will work to identify and disrupt organized crime networks that are participating in auto theft, Kerzner said. 

The government also says it is creating a major auto theft prosecution team to provide dedicated legal and prosecution support to the OPP when taking complex cases to court.

As well, some money is set to go toward a grant for police services for extra tools, supports and resources to tackle auto theft, including technology to find and identify stolen vehicles, as well as for public awareness campaigns.

Car stolen every 48 minutes in Ontario: province

The province says that in Ontario a car is stolen every 48 minutes.

"An experienced, high-tech thief can steal a car from a driveway or a parking lot in seconds. A carjacker may use more violent methods. We must do all we can ... to assist police," Kerzner said.

Halton Police Chief Stephen Tanner said there's a clear trend of stolen vehicles in Ontario being sent to Montreal.

"This has to be highly, highly organized," he said. "In order to arrange the shipping containers, arrange the shipping, often through Morocco and then on to other points in the Middle East or Europe."

He said this business — selling cars overseas — is extremely profitable for organized crime operations, which can use the money to finance other criminal activities. 

Thomas Carrique, commissioner of the OPP, said Ontario is a more desirable place to steal cars over Quebec because insurance companies in Quebec provide incentives for vehicle owners who put tracking devices on their vehicles.

"We will be working with the insurance industry to see if we can create similar opportunities here in Ontario," he said.

Tanner said in the first three months of 2023, there were 6,000 vehicles stolen across Niagara, Hamilton, Halton, Peel, Toronto and Durham.

In Halton in particular, 416 vehicles were stolen in those first three months, he added. The list of stolen vehicles includes, according to Tanner, 108 Toyotas, 78 Dodge Ram pickup trucks, 76 Land Rovers, 55 Lexus vehicles, 43 Jeeps and 37 Ford F-150s.