I’m hearing from many constituents in my riding of Don Valley North who are extremely concerned about a dramatic increase in instances of vehicle theft and carjackings in our area. According to an article in the Toronto Star, 70 vehicles were stolen in North York during the week of October 13 to 19. The previous week, the number of stolen cars in the area was 54. There is one vehicle stolen every six minutes in Canada, and the proceeds from stolen vehicles are often used to fund global organized crime and terrorism.

This issue is being addressed by the police in our community and through public safety initiatives in our province. But without proper registration and procedures to hold accountable those who alter vehicle identification and to prevent stolen vehicles from exiting Canada, we are far from solving this serious public safety issue.

I hereby call out to the federal government to tighten border controls and stop stolen vehicles from being exported overseas.