As a result of their deliberations committees may make recommendations which they include in their reports for the consideration of the House of Commons or the Government. Recommendations related to this study are listed below.

Recommendation 1

That the Government of Canada work in collaboration with provincial and territorial governments to find a balance allowing more freedom to insurers with regards to the insurance of the most stolen vehicles based on the United Kingdom model.

Recommendation 2

That the Government of Canada continue to strengthen Canada’s Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing regime, to address money laundering and proceeds of crime linked to vehicle theft.

Recommendation 3

That the Government of Canada recommend the International Maritime Organization to expand the scope of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code to consider organized crime.

Recommendation 4

That the Government of Canada work with public safety partners to identify high-risk Port facilities and conduct targeted security assessments for potential vulnerabilities, and that the Government of Canada revise and validate security plans for high-risk container facilities.

Recommendation 5

That the Government of Canada review existing legislation and regulations, such as the Customs Act, with a view to:

• Enhance compliance with export controls;
• Increase accountability for all partners and facility operators involved in export operations;
• Increase penalties for non-compliance and false reporting; and
• Benefit from international best practices.

Recommendation 6

That the Government of Canada assess legislation to ensure export regulations are effective for law enforcement.

Recommendation 7

That the Government of Canada allow port authorities to put security measures in place to prevent criminal activity.

Recommendation 8

That the Government of Canada explore legislative amendments to provide police services with the authority to conduct security clearances for all Canadian Port Authorities’ employees.

Recommendation 9

That the Government of Canada improve and standardize the security clearance screening of Canadian ports carried out by Transport Canada in collaboration with police services by:

• establishing a centralized database for employee access cards for all Canadian ports;
• establishing a mechanism to standardize authentication of access cards across all Canadian ports; and
• considering technology used elsewhere in the world, like holographic film technology.

Recommendation 10

That the Government of Canada review the export surveillance aspect of the Canada Border Services Agency's (CBSA) mandate by:

• requiring a minimum percentage of random examinations of export containers at Canadian ports;

• allocating more resources to this aspect of the CBSA's mandate; and

• introducing legislative amendments and regulations to compel rail and port operators to provide adequate accommodations for the examination of exported containers by CBSA officers.

Recommendation 11

That the government of Canada enhance collaboration between the Canada Border Services Agency and port authorities, rail network, and shipping partners to expand export cargo container examinations, notably to include urgent, significant, and random deployment of scanning and detection technology in new locations.

Recommendation 12

That the Government of Canada continue to provide adequate resources to the Canada Border Services Agency to maintain their 100% response rate in conducting container examinations when information is provided by law enforcement agencies.

Recommendation 13

That the Government of Canada invest in combating vehicle theft by:

• Increasing the complement of border officers by hiring new frontline officers and deploying them to ports, rail yards, and intermodal hubs to expand examination capacity in response to intelligence developed by the Canada Border Services Agency and law enforcement;
• Dedicating new resources to intelligence and targeting capabilities specific to stolen vehicles; and
• Identifying and testing new detection technology tools to expand capacity to screen containers for stolen vehicles.

Recommendation 14

That the Government of Canada decrease spending on outside consultants at the Canada Border Services Agency and divert that money towards increasing scanning capacity at Canada's ports.

Recommendation 15

That the Government of Canada open a second Canada Border Services Agency training college.

Recommendation 16

That the Government of Canada continue to commit to supporting the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and other police services by ensuring they have the necessary tools to gather information and make arrests against organized crime.

Recommendation 17

That the Government of Canada work with provinces, territories, and municipal partners to provide additional funding to police services to improve their capacity to provide timely referrals, information, and actionable intelligence to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), as well as take custody of stolen vehicles intercepted by CBSA.

Recommendation 18

That the Government of Canada amend the Customs Act to make changes to the conditions under which containers may be searched and expand the powers of police officers working at ports to open containers when they suspect fraudulent contents.

Recommendation 19

That the Government of Canada review the Customs Act and its regulation to impose an obligation of veracity on the export document submitted to Transport Canada and ensure the imposition of substantial penalties in the event of false declaration on the container manifests.

Recommendation 20

That the Government of Canada amend the Customs Act and its regulation to prohibit the alteration of export manifests after the departure of vessels and require the presentation of export documents at least 72 hours before departure.

Recommendation 21

That the Government of Canada integrate the use of advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to better target containers with suspected stolen vehicles and that the Canada Border Services Agency utilizes AI to facilitate the verification of Vehicle Identification Numbers and the Canadian Police Information Centre.

Recommendation 22

That the Canada Border Services Agency undertake the following measures:

• Verify the vehicle identification number (VIN) by decoding;
• Improve targeting techniques and verification of export declarations;
• Implement automated VIN duplication and national stolen vehicle database checks (Canadian Police Information Centre); and
• Improve analysis of submissions to the Canadian Export Reporting System.

Recommendation 23

That the Government of Canada continue to invest in community-based prevention initiatives for youth-at-risk of future involvement in the criminal justice system, including by prioritizing the funding of new project under the Youth Gang Prevention Fund for community-based initiatives preventing at-risk youth from joining gangs and from getting involved in other criminal and anti-social activities, such as youth delinquency, vehicle theft, substance use, and gun violence.

Recommendation 24

That the Government of Canada continue investing in the Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence to address the increased links between gun and gang violence and vehicle theft.

Recommendation 25

That the Government of Canada collaborate with provincial and municipal governments to develop a national awareness campaign focused on vehicle security best practices, aimed at educating the public on preventative measures to reduce the risk of vehicle theft.7

Recommendation 26

That the Government of Canada support research initiatives to evaluate the effectiveness of community-based policing strategies in reducing vehicle theft, with a focus on fostering partnerships between law enforcement and local communities.

Recommendation 27

That the Government of Canada amend the Criminal Code to provide additional tools for law enforcement and prosecutors to address vehicle theft by:

• Including new offences related to trafficking and exporting stolen vehicles.
• Including new criminal offences related to auto theft involving the use of violence or links to organized crime; possession or distribution of an electronic or digital device for the purposes of committing auto theft; and laundering proceeds of crime forthe benefit of a criminal organization.
• Adding a new aggravating factor at sentencing if an offender involved a young person in committing an offence under the Criminal Code.
• Increasing the Criminal Code penalties for motor vehicle theft, such as escalating terms of imprisonment for subsequent offences and increasing the penalties for motor vehicle theft when it has been committed for the benefit of or in association with a criminal organization.

Recommendation 28

Recognizing that the bail system is a joint responsibility between the federal, provincial and territorial governments, that the Government of Canada, in consultation and collaboration with the Provinces and Territories, review the bail system to reduce recidivism and deter auto theft.

Recommendation 29

That the Government of Canada enhance customs information and intelligence sharing to support municipal and provincial police services in their vehicle theft investigations.

Recommendation 30

That the Government of Canada engage all partners in the export trade, such as port authorities, shipping lines, and rail operators, to develop actionable intelligence on stolen vehicles.

Recommendation 31

That the Government of Canada establish a National Intergovernmental Working Group on Auto Theft led by Public Safety Canada with federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments as well as police services to coordinate actions, monitor progress, and that the task force review and strengthen initiatives that may be undertaken at all levels for a multi-faceted approach to combatting vehicle theft.

Recommendation 32

That the Government of Canada strengthen existing ways of sharing intelligence and information among law enforcement and public safety partners by:

• Dedicating federal resources to the provincially led Auto Theft Joint Intelligence Group, with key police services and leveraging private sector collaboration; and
• Using the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada network, to provide actionable intelligence, and the Canadian Integrated Response to Organized Crime, to coordinate national operational approaches to organized crime, including vehicle theft.

Recommendation 33

That the Government of Canada develop and implement a GPS tracking protocol for vehicle theft victims to share location data of stolen vehicles with relevant authorities for safe retrieval.

Recommendation 34

That the Government of Canada amend the legislation to allow ports authorities to access the Canada Border Services Agency data.

Recommendation 35

That the Government of Canada promote collaboration and information sharing by increasing financial support of the various collaborative initiatives undertaken by police services, public safety partners, and other independent organizations to combat vehicle theft.

Recommendation 36

That the Government of Canada engage foreign border services for collaboration, implement best practices, and find technological solutions to address the rise in vehicle theft.

Recommendation 37

That the Government of Canada strengthen interjurisdictional and international cooperation with provincial, municipal, and foreign law enforcement partners.

Recommendation 38

That the Government of Canada connect Canada’s stolen motor vehicle records from the Canadian Police Information Centre to INTERPOL’s Stolen Motor Vehicle Database.

Recommendation 39

That the Government of Canada invest in INTERPOL to combat transnational organized vehicle crime.

Recommendation 40

That the Government of Canada update and modernize the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards under the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations, to ensure manufacturers include technological advancements to deter and prevent vehicle theft, such as tracking or anti-theft devices, in new vehicles.

Recommendation 41

That the Government of Canada work with manufacturers to modify their obligations relating to vehicle safety standards, such as incorporating software patches or immobilizers to new vehicles, to better prevent vehicle theft.

Recommendation 42

That the Government of Canada amend the Radiocommunication Act to regulate the sale, distribution, and importation of radio devices used for vehicle theft.

Recommendation 43

That the Government of Canada encourage provincial and territorial governments to take steps to:

• Combat revinning or the use of fraudulent vehicle registrations to re-sell stolen vehicles;
• Ensure the verification of third-party vehicle registration and the physical inspection of problematic Vehicle Identification Numbers take place during registration; and
• Ensure vehicle sellers are required to prove ownership before resale.

Recommendation 44

That the Government of Canada invest and participate in the interprovincial records exchange to improve data sharing across jurisdictions on vehicle registration.