The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has introduced a new mobile X-ray screening system in Brampton to prevent stolen vehicles from leaving the country. The $3.5-million scanner, unveiled by Canada’s public safety minister and Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, will be used to check cargo containers at the CN Brampton and CP Vaughan intermodal hubs, which send commercial goods to the Port of Montreal.
Mayor Brown has advocated for this technology to help combat the high rate of auto theft in Brampton, stating that it sends a clear message to organized crime that smuggling stolen vehicles out of the country will no longer be easy. The scanner aims to address the issue of stolen vehicles being used as currency by criminal groups and shipped overseas.
In 2023, approximately 30,000 vehicles were reported stolen in Ontario, with Mississauga and Brampton accounting for a significant portion of these thefts. The CBSA has recovered fewer than 7,000 stolen vehicles since 2018, highlighting the need for enhanced measures like the new scanner.
Earlier this year, nearly 600 vehicles were prevented from leaving the country at the Port of Montreal, most of which were stolen in Toronto, Mississauga, and Brampton. Mayor Brown and Peel Regional Police Deputy Chief Nick Milinovic recently visited the Port of Newark to learn from U.S. Homeland Security about advanced techniques and technologies for combating auto theft. They plan to submit a report with their findings to Public Safety Canada.
In response to the rise in auto theft across the Greater Toronto Area and Canada, the federal government has announced a new National Action Plan on Combatting Auto Theft. This plan includes proposed changes to the Criminal Code to increase penalties for auto thefts linked to money laundering and organized crime, as well as improved intelligence sharing between municipal, provincial, and federal governments.