Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre will invest in securing federal ports by buying scanners and hiring manpower to inspect containers, he announced at a press conference in Montreal on Tuesday morning.
To tackle Canada's car theft scourge, the Conservative leader is committed to buying 24 “state-of-the-art” scanners if elected. These tools will allow the inspection of containers leaving the country's major federal ports, which sometimes contain stolen vehicles on board.
“Each scanner will be capable of scanning 154 containers per hour, that's a million boxes per year, per scanner,” he told reporters near the port of Montreal on Tuesday. “This will allow us to look at the boxes and ensure that the goods inside are the ones recorded in the export balance sheet. »
Mr. Poilievre said he finds it inconceivable that car theft victims can sometimes use remote apps to track their vehicle. But even when they realize their car is on its way to port, the authorities can't always intervene.
Scanning containers doesn't necessarily solve the problem, as recently pointed out Pres Jacques Lamontagne, Director of Investigations for Quebec and Atlantic, Equit Association and retired detective lieutenant from the SPVM.
“These containers don't just contain stolen vehicles. Sometimes the cars are sent completely legally,” he recalled in our file.
Read “Vehicle theft in Quebec: A deterrent.”
A special committee has been constituted
Another move by the Conservative government was to appoint a “team of special agents” whose role would be to inspect the containers, Mr. Poilievre pointed out Tuesday.
In total, 75 new inspection officers will be hired at four major Canadian ports: Montreal, Halifax, Vancouver and Prince Rupert. About thirty of these agents will be employed in Montreal.
To fund these investments, Mr. Boilevre says. “This will save a total of 30 million. »
Photo by Robert Skinner, The Press
Pierre Poilievre
With an average of more than 200 vehicles stolen every day, auto theft has become a national crisis, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
In the first half of last year, car thefts increased by 31% in Ontario and 17% in Quebec. This follows a 50% increase in both provinces in 2022 compared to 2021.
In Toronto alone, 9,600 vehicles are expected to be stolen in 2022, a 300% increase over 2015.
Make punishments tougher for repeat thieves
The Conservative leader had already announced the first part of his plan to tackle car theft on Monday, which would deal with the penalties given to offenders. Car thieves should not be allowed to serve their sentences “watching Netflix in their living room,” at a news conference in Brampton, Ontario.
A Conservative government would thus end house arrest as an option for people accused of car theft – that is, those convicted of a more serious crime.
It would increase the mandatory minimum sentence for a third offense from six months to three years and make involvement in organized crime a specific aggravating factor in sentencing for car theft.
“Today, I announce that a Pierre Poilievre government will attack real criminals by reinstating prison, not bail, for violent repeat offenders and career car thieves,” he told the media.
Read “Boilivre to tighten penalties for repeat car thieves”.
Canada's Conservative Party released the plan days before the federal Liberals are due to hold a national summit on combating auto theft with police, border agents and industry leaders.
With Canadian Press
