Anand asks his Ontario counterpart for a meeting to discuss growing problem of fraudulent car registrations

Federal Transport Minister Anita Anand calls for a meeting with her provincial counterpart to address the growing problem of re-vinning and fraudulent vehicle registrations.

In a letter sent Saturday to Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria, Anand wrote that she wants all provinces and territories to prioritize this issue to further prevent car thefts across the country.

Re-vinning involves criminals illegally inventing a car’s vehicle identification number (VIN) to hide the fact that it has been stolen so they can register and sell it. Due to the lack of interprovincial data exchangecriminals can register a vehicle with the same chassis number as a vehicle registered in another province.

“Law enforcement agencies across the country report that refining and fraudulent registrations, pervasive problems that facilitate the sale and distribution of stolen vehicles, are on the rise,” Anand wrote in the letter.

“While the long-standing Interprovincial Record Exchange can help detect vehicle repossessions, all provinces and territories must fully participate in this system to close the loophole exploited by criminals to bring stolen vehicles into Canada to resell.”

According to the government, the Interprovincial Record Exchange (IRE) is a tool used for the “efficient exchange” of driver’s license and vehicle information between jurisdictions.

Earlier this year, the federal government and other stakeholders developed the National Action Plan to Combat Car Theft some of that is investments to enable extensive data exchange via the IRE.

In May, Pablo Rodriguez, the former federal transportation minister, wrote a letter to his provincial and territorial counterparts to address the issue.

Anand, in her letter dated Saturday, asked Sarkaria to respond to Rodriguez’s letter.

“I appreciate your response to my predecessor, who committed to working together on this issue. I would like to discuss this important issue with you and hear in more detail what your province is doing,” she wrote, adding that her team will reach out and coordinate a meeting.

Anand emphasized in her letter that the federal car theft action plan has shown encouraging results, with national car theft trends showing a decline in the first half of the year.

Border officials have also intercepted more than 1,900 stolen vehicles this year, nearly a third in the Greater Toronto Area.

“Car theft is a national crisis that affects thousands of Canadian households every year. As our government has reiterated, all relevant parties must be at the table to combat this issue,” the Transport Minister wrote.

“We have seen positive results, but we must remain vigilant and take strong action together to keep Canadians safe and protect our communities.”

CP24 has asked Minister Sarkaria for comment.

The Ontario government announced in May that it is investing $51 million in new measures to help police tackle car theft criminals. The province says it has also purchased five new police helicopters to prevent violent carjackings.