Public Safety Committee on Nov. 25th, 2025

[The Chair, Liberal, Jean-Yves Duclos]

Thank you, Ms. Dandurand.

I now give the floor to Mrs. DeBellefeuille for six minutes.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Beauharnois—Salaberry—Soulanges—Huntingdon, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

During an appearance as part of the study on vehicle theft, the Insurance Bureau of Canada told the committee that, based on its findings, the border was porous, and that the Canada Border Services Agency and law enforcement agencies needed to do their job. However, it's estimated that there's a shortage of between 2,000 and 3,000 border services officers to ensure border security.

If we're seeing an improvement in the auto theft file, it's because the agency and the RCMP prioritized this problem, which had received a lot of media attention. However, one question often comes up: While they are focusing on vehicle theft, what services are being neglected? Organized crime comes to mind, as do other services that require the presence of border services officers.

So Bill C‑12 could improve the situation, but I don't get the impression that it gives us the means to achieve our ambitions. In other words, it doesn't seem to provide sustainable resources to combat vehicle theft in the short and long term. That's what I think.

It must be said that everything depends on the agency's ability to provide its inspection services. The Montreal Port Authority tells us that it can take up to two weeks to open containers and that this has consequences for manufacturers. They can't get the vehicles to their customers, since there's a shortage of border services officers and they can't do their jobs any faster.

Do you believe that the provisions set out in part 2 or part 3 of Bill C‑12 will really make a change or create a deterrent effect when it comes to vehicle theft?

Mr. Kingston can go first, and then Mr. McGuinty.

[Brian Kingston]

I think Bill C-12 is absolutely a step in the right direction, combined with all of the funding that was put into CBSA under the borders plan and some of the changes in Bill C-2. They are making a difference. We're seeing it in the data.

Your point is absolutely correct. As the border services put more energy and resources into vehicle theft, there is a risk that other types of illegal activity moving through the ports may see an increase, be it in drugs, guns or other sorts of illegal activity. That said, it was clear that we did not have the necessary resources. The inspections were not occurring on outbound cargo. Now, because the government has put funding into this, there will be much stronger deterrence against that type of activity occurring at ports.

It's a step in the right direction, but there's always more that can be done.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Beauharnois—Salaberry—Soulanges—Huntingdon, QC]

What do you think, Mr. McGuinty?

[Liam McGuinty]

I agree with Brian.

I will add two things.

One, I think for a very long time, and for sound public policy reasons, we had a focus on what was coming into the country, as opposed to the outflows. I think we've realized, especially with the tie to organized crime, that a focus on outflows is also in our public interest.

I would say that this bill and other measures by the government, including the increases to the CBSA's capacity, are important, and so too is the technology held by the CBSA. I know there have been pilot projects for new scanners and investments in more scanners. I think all of that will come together and continue to make improvements in, as I mentioned in my remarks, squeezing that choke point, which is really the final choke point in a very long auto theft supply chain.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Beauharnois—Salaberry—Soulanges—Huntingdon, QC]

I have a question that you may find a little unusual, Mr. Kingston. I must say that I don't really know much about it, and I didn't participate in the committee's study on auto theft, but I wonder why cars are so easy to steal. Why doesn't Transport Canada set high standards to force you to talk to each other, work together and neutralize theft techniques?

I understand that technology is evolving quickly, but from what I can understand, it seems quite easy to steal cars in Canada. Why is it so easy? Are other countries similar to us affected by this scourge in the same way as we are?

[Brian Kingston]

What we saw, and this is what caused us to raise the alarm when we were last here, is that we have the same vehicles in Canada, largely, as you would see on U.S. roads, but we actually have an immobilizer standard in Canada, which you don't have in the United States. Every vehicle comes fitted with an immobilizer, and yet theft rates here were far higher. That led us to investigate why it was happening, and it turns out it's because they could be easily exported out of market, which is harder to do in the United States.

To your question around the technology, companies are constantly evolving, but the amount of money that gets put into this by organized crime groups means that you put in a new security system, and in some instances, within days, those vehicles are being stolen by these groups and torn down, so they can find vulnerabilities. Then that information is shared. It is almost impossible to come up with a single solution that will make a car unstealable.

Let's say Transport Canada mandated that every vehicle should have bars on the window. You can't get into them. There would be no way possible, without some sort of heavy machinery. Well, what we saw happening here is that as the systems improved, organized crime groups turned to carjackings and violent home invasions. They will do whatever it takes to get the keys, and that's obviously a very dangerous outcome for Canadians.

There is no silver bullet on the technology side. It's a suite of measures, including closing off export markets, more law enforcement and higher penalties for criminals. There is no single technological solution that will stop the theft.

[The Chair, Liberal, Jean-Yves Duclos]

Thank you very much, Mr. Kingston.

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

[Sukhman Gill, Conservative, Abbotsford—South Langley, BC]

Thank you, gentlemen, for coming in and being witnesses today.

Canada's auto sector has been coming to a breaking point for quite a while now. Theft is exploding and is costing Canadians a billion dollars a year in insurance claims, draining household budgets, and it's hammering the manufacturers who are already struggling to stay competitive.

Instead of easing the pressure, the federal government is continuing to pile on. After spending years championing the electric vehicle mandate, Mark Carney has finally admitted that the policy is unworkable. However, rather than scrapping it, he simply pushed it back to 2026 and launched another bloated bureaucratic review.

The question is very simple. How do you think the increased theft rates have affected the total cost structure of automakers, insurers and consumers, and how could these theft-related losses reduce the capital that manufacturers need to meet possible EV mandate compliance requirements?

[Brian Kingston]

The automotive industry is under unprecedented pressure, as you've outlined. Some of that is emanating from protectionist policies in the United States, but there are also a number of Canadian policies that have put huge costs on this industry at the worst possible time.

We estimate that the federal EV mandate will cost Canadian manufacturers over $3 billion in compliance credits. It must be repealed. We have to take a look at every single element of Canada's competitiveness. If we're going to protect the automotive footprint, we should be evaluating all of these rules and regulations and determining if they are effective and what the cost is. If it's clear that they're redundant and ineffective, like the EV mandate, get rid of them. Let manufacturers focus on what they do best, which is building cars here and employing Canadians. Don't put these unnecessary regulations on top of them at a time like this.

[Sukhman Gill, Conservative, Abbotsford—South Langley, BC]

Do you agree that the EV mandate should be scrapped?

[Brian Kingston]

Absolutely.

We've been saying that for the better part of five years.

[Sukhman Gill, Conservative, Abbotsford—South Langley, BC]

How do you think that companies will weigh EV mandate penalties, rising vehicle tariff expenses and cross-border traffic tariff rises when determining whether to invest in new Canadian facilities or shift productions to other jurisdictions?

[Brian Kingston]

All of this is factored in when a company makes an investment decision. They evaluate a location on the costs of manufacturing in that location and there are a number of other factors that go into it. If you have an EV mandate that will require companies to sell fewer internal combustion engine vehicles and purchase credits from foreign automakers to operate here, that makes Canada significantly less attractive.

[Sukhman Gill, Conservative, Abbotsford—South Langley, BC]

If auto theft costs continue to rise and insurance premiums continue to go up, how might this affect consumers' willingness or ability to purchase higher-priced EVs?

[Brian Kingston]

It will make it a challenge for sure. Canadians are in an affordability crisis right now. If they are forced to purchase EVs, which is what the EV mandate does and this is according to Environment Canada, it's going to raise vehicle prices, reduce availability and ultimately impact low-income, rural and northern Canadians disproportionately.

[Sukhman Gill, Conservative, Abbotsford—South Langley, BC]

Would that be a struggle because the federal government has put a mandate to set a target there then?

[Brian Kingston]

Exactly. It's directly related to the federal mandate.

[Sukhman Gill, Conservative, Abbotsford—South Langley, BC]

That's what we've been saying the whole time. Given the soaring costs of theft and rising insurance premiums and the financial strain already crushing manufacturers, isn't it fair to ask whether the EV mandate is actively making Canada less secure by forcing money and attention away from combatting real threats towards unworkable strategies that the government has put forward?

[Brian Kingston]

Yes, it absolutely is.

[Sukhman Gill, Conservative, Abbotsford—South Langley, BC]

Would you like to go further into detail with that?

[Brian Kingston]

On the insurance question, if you boil it down to cost per consumer, at one point in Ontario, $130 of your premium was going towards auto theft costs. Ontario has been a hot spot. In the last eight years in the GTA, theft claims have increased in value by 700%, far outpacing inflation and other factors that would contribute to an insurance premium.

[Sukhman Gill, Conservative, Abbotsford—South Langley, BC]

Thank you so much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Jean-Yves Duclos]

I'll now turn to MP Ehsassi, for five minutes.

[Ali Ehsassi, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you to our witnesses for doing a great job and providing us with a lot of information.

Mr. McGuinty, I think you mentioned the fact that most of these cars are coming from Toronto or Montreal and finding their way through the port of Montreal.

You mentioned specifically the 401. As you know, there are many cameras on the 401. I suspect that they are primarily for speeding purposes. Do you think there's any benefit to using that technology for the purposes of doing a better job detecting where these cars are coming from and cracking down on organized crime?