Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
As Terri noted, our industry sees trends before they become a crisis by way of rising claims costs. When we began to see auto theft numbers increase, we were quick to look at ways we could limit the impact on our customers. It was immediately clear that we would be unable to tackle this issue alone. Thankfully, the federal government's commitment to an action plan and the ongoing collaboration of many stakeholders mean we do not have to. It's now well understood that in order to combat auto theft in Canada, we need a whole-of-society approach.
I'd like to start by painting a picture. In terms of solving the auto theft crisis, where do we want to be by 2030?
Canada should no longer be seen as a target destination for international organized crime groups to source their stolen vehicles. By 2030, it should be so difficult to steal and export a car in Canada that organized crime groups look elsewhere. It should be so difficult that other countries are looking to emulate Canada's approach. This is critical because by 2030 we can expect to see more autonomous vehicles on our roads, and then the impact of vehicle theft will become much more severe.
How do we realize that vision?
First, we have to focus on prevention and consumer awareness to make cars harder to steal in the first place. A vehicle is reported stolen every five minutes in Canada. We need to do better for your constituents and for all Canadians.
Second, we need to expand intelligence and information sharing among enforcement agencies and industry partners. There are international examples that we can replicate here to disrupt the transnational criminal organizations from benefiting from auto theft.
Third, we need to focus on intervention and law enforcement to cut off the supply of stolen vehicles to international markets. Our borders are too porous. They're designed to prevent bad things from getting into our country, but we also need to deter things from getting out. This involves the CBSA and law enforcement, as well as the co-operation of shipping and rail companies and freight forwarders. Last week's $15-million funding announcement is certainly a good start, but there's more work to do.
Finally, we need to improve the recovery of vehicles, in part through international policing coordination, to make it easier to bring your constituents' vehicles home.
What else could we do?
When it comes to elevating consumer awareness, insurers are doing their part. In addition to consumer education at the point of sale by brokers and agents and incentivizing the installation of aftermarket anti-theft devices, our industry ran an “End Auto Theft” campaign last fall to educate drivers on what they can do to protect themselves. We reached tens of millions of drivers.
We can build on this campaign while promoting other efforts. There are great examples of consumer education out there, and we need to see more of that.
As for prevention, we welcome Transport Canada's commitment to modernize outdated motor vehicle safety standards to improve theft deterrents. Updating standards and regulations can take time, so our industry is prepared to partner with manufacturers on this to make it move as quickly as possible.
Through Équité, insurers are also committed to sharing their data with law enforcement agencies and the CBSA. In the U.S., Customs and Border Protection actively shares intelligence information with the National Insurance Crime Bureau to detect and prevent the export of stolen vehicles. They indicate that this has been incredibly useful.
Enhanced information sharing will help inform earlier, more-targeted enforcement, further cutting off the supply of stolen vehicles. The provinces also have a role to play here in addressing the vulnerabilities in revinning a vehicle.
With regard to intervention and enforcement, preventing the illegal export of vehicles absolutely should be the priority.
In Canada, export documents can be amended after a ship has set sail. In the U.S., Customs and Border Protection requires the exporter of a vehicle to present all export documents and the vehicle at the port at least 72 hours prior to export. As a result, law enforcement experts estimate that only 10% of their stolen vehicles are slated for export. In Canada, that number is over 50%.
With regard to recovery, once vehicles are out of Canada, it's complicated and costly to get them back. Sharing our law enforcement information with foreign partners, including Interpol, would help arm international customs officials with the knowledge they need to intervene.
In closing, I want to state the obvious: Auto theft is not a victimless crime. It affects every Canadian—each and every one of your constituents—either directly or indirectly.
Like in any other business, increased costs will eventually be borne by the customer. Last year, auto theft added an average of $130 to insurance premiums in Ontario and $105 in Quebec. This is to say nothing of the upstream and downstream impacts that auto theft is having on Canadians' safety in their communities—our communities—every day.
We can do better—we must do better—for our friends and neighbours across the country.
Thank you very much.