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?