SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Ontario Assembly

43rd Parl. 1st Sess.
November 28, 2023 09:00AM
  • Nov/28/23 11:10:00 a.m.

My question is to the Solicitor General. Speaker, I often talk about auto thefts and carjackings in this House, mainly because 33 division is among the hot spots for car theft and is in my riding. Even the federal justice minister is not immune to this crime. Two government vehicles assigned to him were stolen, and only one was recovered.

Michael Rothe, president and CEO of the Canadian Finance and Leasing Association, said in an interview with Maclean’s, “We’re a very safe country in many ways. But freedom isn’t free. Solving the car theft problem will actually help solve a lot of other issues, too.”

Speaker, I welcome the news of the Preventing Auto Thefts Grant funding. Can the Solicitor General please elaborate on how the government funding will help to tackle this urgent issue?

To paraphrase Michael Rothe in the same interview with Maclean’s, US Homeland Security is much more engaged than the Canada Border Services Agency, and our borders are more porous. Canadians are so frustrated to see containers with stolen vehicles going off to other countries.

Can the Solicitor General tell this House whether a timeline has been set for all levels of government to sit down together to address this crisis? And are there any public education programs planned in the near future to inform vehicle owners about car theft prevention?

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