10 most stolen cars in Canada need recall ‘until the technology is fixed’: Brampton Mayor Brown

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown is calling on Ottawa to recall the 10 most stolen vehicles in Canada to “put the brakes” on car thieves.

The City of Brampton is launching a pilot program to give thousands of Brampton car owners of free Faraday bags – a signal-blocking pouch that can prevent thieves from copying your vehicle’s keyfob.

These types of crimes are called “relay thefts.” And while Brown says the Faraday bag program is a good reactive measure to auto crime, the Mayor is calling for the Feds to recall the 10 most stolen vehicles in the country to put an onus on vehicle manufacturers to make vehicles more difficult to steal.

“You can literally steal a car in less than 60 seconds using this new technology and we need to adapt,” Brown said at a press conference. “We need auto manufacturers not to wait for someone else to step up, we need them to all step up.”

Brown said he wants Ottawa to recall the vehicles under section 10.5 of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act “until the technology is fixed” and has been in conversations with Federal Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino about the issue.

The mayor has also launched a public petition asking Federal Minister of Transportation Omar Alghabra to order a recall “of the most stolen vehicles with keyless ignitions and keyless locks.”

Brown said the models that should be included in the recall are:

• Lexus RS series
• Honda CRV
• Ford F-150
• Toyota Highlander
• Honda Civic
• Land Rover Range Rover Sport
• Honda Accord
• Chevy GMC Silverado and Sierra series
• Ram 150
• Toyota Tacoma

Brown made the announcement alongside Coun. Rowena Santos on Thursday (Feb. 16)  as many vehicle manufacturers will be in the GTA for the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto. Santos said the timing was no accident and called on manufacturers and all levels of government to collaborate on ways to cut down on thefts.

“We can’t react and react and react to auto thefts in Peel Region and across the county – we actually need to prevent them,” Santos said.

Auto thefts in Mississauga and Brampton have nearly doubled since 2019, with more than 6,000 vehicles stolen in Peel Region last year.

Police say thieves have been using stolen vehicles as currency in organized crime circles and investigators have been looking into a large number of stolen vehicles from Ontario being shipped overseas and sold in used car lots.

But the volume of shipments leaving Canada and the cost of shipping stolen vehicles back to their rightful owners are significant roadblocks for investigators.

Brown said there are only 10 CBSA officers inspecting cargo containers leaving Canada and that only 1 per cent of containers are physically inspected. And with the port of Montreal shipping 34 million tonnes of cargo last year alone, Brown is also calling on Ottawa to give more resources to CBSA.

The three–month Faraday bag pilot program will see thousands of signal-blocking bags distributed to drivers in five of the city’s auto theft hot spots. Depending on the results of the pilot, the program could be expanded to include other parts of the city.

To view the petition visit www.StopCarTheftNow.com.