April 15, 2008

OTTAWA – Today, new legislation was introduced in the House of Commons to make amendments to the Criminal Code that will target auto theft and trafficking in property crime.

Every three minutes, a car is stolen in Canada. This astonishing rate of car theft costs Canadians $1.2 billion per year. Perpetrated by gangs, mobsters, petty crooks and joyriding hoodlums, this crime is expensive and dangerous.  Incidents have skyrocketed in recent years due, in large part, to outdated legal protections.

"Every Canadian pays the price of car theft, whether through car repairs, insurance premiums, pressure on the health care system or the real risk to public safety," said Lauzon

The new legislation will give police and prosecutors better tools to fight car thieves, particularly organized crime rings that steal vehicles, alter the Vehicle Identification Number, and re-sell them in Canada or abroad, or dismantle stolen vehicles in so-called "chop shops" and re-sell the parts.

The new legislation will make it a crime to:

• Alter, destroy or remove a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
• Knowingly, sell, give, transfer, transport, send or deliver goods that have been acquired criminally.
• Possess property known to be obtained through crime for the purpose of trafficking.
• Grant the Canada Border Services Agency the authority to identify and prevent stolen property from leaving the country.
  

"Car thieves must be sent a message that their free ride is over.  That is why the Conservative Government is taking real action to protect all Canadian families from the human and monetary costs of this dangerous crime," said Lauzon.