Public Safety Committee on Nov. 25th, 2025

[The Chair, Liberal, Jean-Yves Duclos]

Good morning, everyone. I call this meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number 15 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the House order of reference of October 23, 2025, the committee is meeting on its study of Bill C‑12, an act respecting certain measures relating to the security of Canada's borders and the integrity of the Canadian immigration system and respecting other related security measures.

I'd now like to welcome the witnesses who will be with us for the first hour of the meeting. From the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association, we have Brian Kingston, who is the president and chief executive officer, and from the Insurance Bureau of Canada, we have Liam McGuinty, who is the acting vice-president of federal affairs.

Mr. Kingston, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Brian Kingston, President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association]

Thank you, Chair and committee members, for the opportunity to participate in your study of Bill C-12.

One year ago, the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association, CVMA, appeared before this committee to raise our concerns about the rise in car thefts in Canada. Despite stronger regulatory requirements for Canadian vehicles in the form of mandatory engine immobilizers and the fitment of the same technologies in new vehicles in both Canada and the U.S., Canada's vehicle theft rate was growing significantly faster than that of the United States.

Since then, manufacturers have continued to improve deterrence and security systems to stop vehicle theft. The industry has also been actively working with stakeholders, including federal, provincial and municipal governments, insurance and law enforcement to better understand challenges and find solutions to deter vehicle theft.

These efforts alone cannot stop theft. Sophisticated transnational organized crime groups have targeted Canada, where the perceived risk of prosecution was low and the financial reward was high. To address this situation, we called for a comprehensive plan to target organized crime groups and close the export market for stolen vehicles.

Bill C-12 takes meaningful and necessary steps to target organized crime groups and secure our borders. These include strengthening Canada's anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regime, including through stronger anti-money laundering penalties; amendments to the Customs Act obligating owners and operators at ports of entry to provide, equip and maintain facilities for any purpose related to the administration and enforcement of the CBSA mandate; and allowing the CBSA to access premises under the control of transporters and warehouse operators to perform examinations in places where goods destined for export are reported, loaded, unloaded or stored.

These measures, combined with the Government of Canada's border plan and Bill C-2, will make it more challenging to operate vehicle theft rings in Canada that primarily export vehicles to foreign markets.

The evidence is clear. More resources to secure our border and to target organized crime have already reduced theft rates in Canada. The increase in the number of stolen vehicles has been reversed, with 16,000 fewer vehicles stolen in 2024 compared to 2023. That's a 14% decrease. Through the first half of this year, auto theft rates have decreased by 19.1% compared to the same period in 2024.

To maintain and build on that success, increased border resources must be maintained. There is more that can be done to address new forms of theft. In response to enhanced vehicle security systems and police resources that are targeting theft, organized crime groups have now increasingly focused on auto financing fraud.

Organized crime groups are the root of the vehicle theft problem in Canada. Theft will persist as long as these groups find ways to profit from stealing vehicles while minimizing their risk of prosecution.

We applaud the actions taken by the federal government. We remain committed to working with all levels of government, insurance and law enforcement to continue to reduce vehicle theft here in Canada.

Thank you very much. I look forward to your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Jean-Yves Duclos]

Thank you very much, Mr. Kingston.

Mr. McGuinty, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Liam McGuinty, Acting Vice-President, Federal Affairs, Insurance Bureau of Canada]

Good morning. I’m pleased to be here today on behalf of the Insurance Bureau of Canada. We represent the vast majority of Canada’s home, car and business insurance companies.

My remarks today will address the persistent challenge of auto theft in Canada, emphasize the urgent need for sustained federal leadership to tackle the issue and highlight the role Bill C-12 can play in that effort.

Auto theft reached crisis levels in Canada a few short years ago. In 2023, the number of stolen vehicles surged to 115,000—a 46% increase over just a 10-year span. In the lead-up to the crisis, our industry had been sounding the alarm and has since worked closely with governments, law enforcement, stakeholders and consumers to raise awareness of auto theft. Our interest in the issue is clear: Auto theft drives up insurance costs and premiums for all of us. More critically, it undermines public safety. Beyond its immediate impact on driver safety, auto theft serves as a major funding source for organized crime.

Because of the data it holds, our industry serves as a barometer on auto theft. Let's start with the good news. Auto theft rates are dropping. According to Statistics Canada in 2024, theft rates fell by 14% compared with the previous year. Our data shows that these decreases are largely driven by fewer thefts in Ontario and Quebec. We credit this improvement to coordinated efforts by all levels of government and law enforcement. Insurance companies have also played a role through incentives and pricing signals that help consumers make informed choices about the vehicles they drive and how to protect them.

Here's the bad news: Despite the recent decreases, theft rates are 25% higher than they were 10 years ago. Last year, just under 100,000 vehicles were reported stolen. Organized crime continues to drive a significant amount of auto theft in Canada. In many instances, they're targeting newer, high-value models, often luxury SUVs and trucks, then exporting them overseas for close to full market value. In other bad news, the impact of auto theft on insurance premiums has increased. The cost of insurance claims for theft are up nearly 400% since 10 years ago.

Thankfully, we've begun to collectively recognize the need to disrupt the stolen vehicle market. The CBSA and law enforcement have made good progress intercepting stolen vehicles before they leave the country. Provincial governments and the CCMTA have begun cleaning up vehicle registry systems and sharing data, making it harder to fraudulently reVIN vehicles. The federal government has invested in the CBSA's capacity and in proposed tougher bail and sentencing laws for violent offenders.

Bill C-12 is the latest encouraging development. As this committee knows, the bill would obligate owners and operators at ports of entry and exit to provide, equip and maintain facilities to allow for the examination and detention of goods destined for export. It would also allow the CBSA access to premises under the control of transporters and warehouse operators in order to perform examinations in places where goods destined for export are stored. The bill recognizes the strategic importance of our ports of exit as critical choke points—key points where we can intercept and prevent stolen goods, including stolen vehicles, from leaving the country. Initiatives like Bill C-12 are welcome and demonstrate the federal government's commitment to continuing the fight against auto theft.

Here's our concern: The data makes it clear that we're still in the thick of this fight. We can't afford to take our foot off the gas, which is why we've been calling for all elements of the national action plan on combatting auto theft to be adopted. This includes changes to Canada's motor vehicle safety standards that would ensure vehicle security becomes a mandatory safety feature.

In the near term, Bill C-12, along with any other effort to boost our enforcement capacity and disrupt the stolen vehicle market, is welcomed by our industry.

Thank you for the invitation to speak with you today. I look forward to your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Jean-Yves Duclos]

Thank you, Mr. McGuinty.

Mr. Lloyd, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Parkland, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

We heard from the CBSA that they're seeing a shift in stolen vehicles on the east coast. It's now moving more to the west coast.

Is that something your organizations are observing?

[Liam McGuinty]

I'm happy to start.

What we track is insurance theft claims at IBC most closely. I think the general trend you've seen is a decrease in the value and volume of thefts in central Canada, in Ontario and Quebec. That's decreased. I'm happy to give some thought and have some discussion on why that might be.

Then there's a bit of a whack-a-mole in the rest of Canada. We've seen it decrease and we've seen it either even out in western Canada—

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Parkland, AB]

In western Canada?

[Liam McGuinty]

We've seen some parts of western Canada increase, and some parts of Atlantic Canada increase, but it's not been an even experience.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Parkland, AB]

Thank you.

A recent CARFAX report from September claims that 372,000 vehicles in Canada have fraudulent or cloned vehicle identification numbers. This is deeply concerning. What are the concerns of the Insurance Bureau and your organization on these cloned VINs? What would be the impact?

[Liam McGuinty]

It is a growing issue. To give a bit of context, there are three things that happen, typically. They get exported to international markets; they get fraudulently reVINed and then sold to unsuspecting customers; or they get taken apart and sold in chop shops. ReVINing is a growing concern across Canada. Oftentimes a consumer, unaware, will purchase a vehicle they think has a clean bill of sale. It does not, and then there are often consequences for that consumer.

One thing we found encouraging is that provincial governments, including the Ontario government, and the CCMTA have started to clean up their VIN systems. They've started to share data more. That's an encouraging development, because the more we can share data, the more we can root out the kinds of fraudulent data we've seen in this system in the past.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Parkland, AB]

What would be the impact, if we're talking about over 300,000 cloned VINs, when people discover...? What happens to consumers when they discover that their vehicle has a cloned VIN that was fraudulently a stolen vehicle before they purchased it? What's the impact on customers?

[Liam McGuinty]

There are implications. The consumer ultimately has accountability for the car they drive. Law enforcement would be better equipped to speak to the specific consequences, but there absolutely is an onus on the consumer to know what they're purchasing. Oftentimes, though, they're doing it with a hand tied behind their back, because the information that's coming to them appears to be legitimate.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Parkland, AB]

Are the insurance companies going to come and claim those vehicles back? Don't they belong to the insurance companies?

[Liam McGuinty]

I'd have to come back to you on that. No, that's not something I've—

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Parkland, AB]

If an insurance company has paid out a claim to somebody who had a stolen vehicle, and there's a consumer who bought that stolen vehicle, who ultimately owns that vehicle? Is it the consumer who purchased it or is it the insurance company that paid out the claim?

[Liam McGuinty]

It's a good question. There could be subrogation involved, ultimately, if it came to that point.

I don't know enough about that subject. I'd have to come back to you on that.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Parkland, AB]

Équité Association has labelled Alberta as a feeder province; Alberta now has the highest per capita rate of vehicle theft. It's clear that organized crime is engaged in reVINing. Now, some people have said that maybe we need a national vehicle registry, but I've already been told that we have an interprovincial record-sharing system. It's just not being used.

Can you give us some more information on that?

[Liam McGuinty]

There's something called the interprovincial record exchange. It's managed by the CCMTA. I think you are actually seeing provincial governments step up and use the IRE more. It was one of the recommendations in the national action plan on combatting auto theft.

I'm encouraged by what I've seen, which is a real focus on improving the data. The problem with a national VIN registry or an IRE is that it's garbage data in, garbage data out.

[Jacques Ramsay, Liberal, La Prairie—Atateken, QC]

I have a point of order, please.

[The Chair, Liberal, Jean-Yves Duclos]

The floor is yours, Mr. Ramsay.

[Jacques Ramsay, Liberal, La Prairie—Atateken, QC]

I would just like the witnesses not to use acronyms like CCMTA, please.

[The Chair, Liberal, Jean-Yves Duclos]

Okay.

Let's try to hear what CCMTA stands for. The interpreters might also appreciate that.

[Liam McGuinty]

Now I'm going to be challenged to actually know what it stands for. I believe it's the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators. The IRE is the interprovincial record exchange.

[Jacques Ramsay, Liberal, La Prairie—Atateken, QC]

Okay. Good.