Ontario Premier Doug Ford added his voice to a growing list of people calling for more industrial scanners at the Port of Montreal capable of identifying stolen vehicles.
Speaking at an unrelated press conference in Ottawa, Ford said increasing the number of shipping container screeners at transportation hubs, like the Montreal port, is necessary to “really crack down on these criminals.”
“Let’s beef that up,” he said Monday in response to a question from iPolitics. “We need more scanning machines for containers leaving our country and going elsewhere with people’s cars in them.”
The premier’s comments come days after Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown criticized the port for what he described as pushing back against the federal government’s measures to curb auto theft, which includes purchasing more scanners.
During a panel discussion hosted by QP Briefing in Toronto last week, Brown said the port should be jumping on the opportunity to bring in more scanners and questioned why it would be reluctant to locate more stolen cars.
READ MORE: Brown rips Port of Montreal for ‘pushback’ against installing container scanners
Brown is scheduled to meet one-on-one with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday, though the mayor’s office did not immediately respond to iPolitics’ questions regarding whether auto theft would be a point of discussion.
Earlier this year, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc convened a national summit on auto theft, where the feds announced a $28 million investment to help the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) improve its ability to locate stolen cars. Under the Customs Act, the Montreal port is a customs controlled area where CBSA officers have the authority to examine goods and conduct investigations.
The federal government also promised to introduce new criminal offences related to auto theft with links to organized crime and possession of digital devices that help facilitate carjackings in this month’s budget. The feds also vowed to strengthen sentences for auto thefts involving a young person.
READ MORE: Feds, province pledge $121 million to combat soaring auto theft and gun crimes
Ford, who has repeatedly called for stronger penalties for criminals caught stealing vehicles, praised the federal government’s movement on this issue, but added that “we could always use more.”
“That’s an important start,” he said. “[But] let’s see where they go on these sentencing requirements that I believe should be tough and discourage these criminals from breaking into people’s homes, stealing their cars, and threatening them.”
With more than 105,000 vehicles stolen nationwide in 2022, auto theft has reached a crisis point across the country in recent years, though southern Ontario in particular remains a haven for stolen cars. As reported by other news outlets, a car was stolen every 40 minutes last year in Toronto alone.
Many of these cars are then shipped overseas through transportation hubs, like the Port of Montreal, which are widely considered to be hotspots for organized crime.
An initiative led by the Ontario Provincial Police earlier this year called Project Vector recovered nearly 600 vehicles from the Montreal port, most of which were taken from the Greater Toronto Area.
“It’s really a multi-prong approach,” said Ford. “I want to thank [the federal government]. They’re going to be changing the criminal code, giving stiff sentences for people that are kicking these doors in, violent crimes, putting guns to people’s heads and taking their vehicles.”
“[But] we have to work all together; the municipalities where this is happening, along with the province and the federal government.”
According to government figures, the number of stolen vehicles intercepted by the CBSA has increased every year since 2016. Last year, Canadian authorities identified 1,806 stolen cars, a number they’re projected to surpass in 2024.