The Port of Montreal is a “parking lot” for car thieves, says Poillevre

Content of the article

Standing in front of shipping containers awaiting shipment at the port of Montreal, federal Conservative Leader Pierre Polievre held a campaign-style news conference Tuesday as he pledged to step up security measures to combat a rise in car thefts across the country.

Standing next to posters reading “Stop Crime” and “Stop Car Theft,” Polievre said Canadian cars are being stolen at historically high rates “after eight years of Justin Trudeau.” Most are shipped overseas from the port of Montreal, which Polievre called a “parking lot for thieves.”

Content of the article

Content of the article

If elected in 2025, Poilevre has pledged to invest in 24 X-ray scanners at a cost of $55 million for the nation's major federal ports in Montreal, Prince Rupert, Vancouver and Halifax and hire a 75-person task force from the Canada Border Services Agency. CBSA) officers to scan the scanners “and intercept stolen vehicles before they leave our country.”

30 of these agents will be stationed in Montreal.

To fund the new staff, Poilevre said he would “fire the useless management consultants at CBSA.”

“Sane Conservatives will undo Trudeau's reckless policies that have turned our federal ports into parking lots for stolen cars,” he said.

His plan comes just days before the federal Liberals are due to hold a national summit with police, border agents and industry leaders to combat auto theft.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada says auto theft has become a national crisis, with an average of more than 200 vehicles stolen every day. In the first half of last year, car thefts rose 31 percent in Ontario and 17 percent in Quebec. This followed a 50 percent jump from 2021 to 2022 in both provinces. In 2022, more than 9,500 cars were stolen in Montreal. By December 12, 2023, police had recorded 11,137 stolen vehicles in the Montreal area during the year.

Content of the article

Content of the article

The problem is adding an extra financial burden to cash-strapped Canadians, Poillevre said. Auto theft claims in Ontario rose 329 percent in the first half of 2023, with total insurance losses in Canada reaching $700 million. The Insurance Bureau of Canada estimates that's an extra $130 a year for every driver in Ontario.

The announcement in Montreal also came a day after Poillevre promised a series of tough-on-crime initiatives aimed at cracking down on car thieves. These include increasing the mandatory prison term for repeat carjackers from six months to three years, and ending house arrest for carjacking convictions. “Car thieves should not be allowed to serve their sentences 'watching Netflix in their room,'” said Polievre.

He was asked about his plans to “mend fences” with Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante after he tweeted that she was “incompetent” over the city's housing slowdown, and then called him incompetent in a second tweet when he went to meet with Trudeau. answered the question unfairly.

“That's an unfair question because you failed to mention that I called other mayors across the country incompetent. In fact, I think there are more incompetent mayors in other regions of the country,” he said.

“The problem is that Justin Trudeau is giving them our tax dollars. It's sad that politicians feel so insecure. But you know what's even sadder? When single mothers can't pay rent.”

In response to his comment on housing policy, Plante replied to Poilevre that “common sense” also “understands that federal funding for housing in Quebec does not go through the cities.”

He later told the Gazette: “He had better disagree or some things might not work well in Montreal. That's totally fine. But insulting me and insulting other governors is not what we expect from a political leader.”

[email protected]

Content of the article

Content of the article