A car is getting stolen every 14 minutes in Ontario.  Auto-theft is now the third biggest source of revenue for organized crime after drugs and guns. It is beyond unacceptable.  

Many of you have reached out to me out of frustration and asked, “Councillor Damerla, what is going on?” or “What is Peel Police doing?”.  

The truth is that the Peel Regional Police is doing everything they can within the limited tools they have at their disposal. Lax federal rules got us here which is frustrating for me as your Councillor.

The real problem is that the auto thieves have figured out that 

1. Canada has lenient laws and limited penalties for auto-theft.  Even though auto-theft is the third largest source of revenue for organized crime groups, the courts continue to treat it as a low-level property crime. 
2. It is easy to ship stolen cars out of Canada because the federal agencies inspect less than 1 per cent of all shipping containers leaving our ports.

Auto-thieves have become even more reckless lately, and the number of brazen carjacking in our communities continues to rise. This needs to stop, period.

I am asking the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the federal government to fix the issues of auto-theft and carjacking by:

1. Immediately amending the criminal code so that auto theft is treated similarly to offences treated under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act — with a minimum mandatory penalty and includes new offences related to possession, trafficking, and exportation of stolen vehicles. 
2. Rapidly increasing inspections of goods leaving Canadian ports especially in Vancouver and Montreal. 

Please be a part of the solution and sign this petition if you believe in creating safer communities free from fear of auto-theft.

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