Car theft has become such a scourge in Quebec that even Minister Martine Biron had her official car stolen last week.
• Also read: Vehicle Theft: A map of hotspots across Quebec
According to our investigations office, the 2022 Toyota Highlander was stolen on December 5 in the Saint-Émile area, Quebec. However, the Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie was not at the scene of the theft.
Only its driver was in possession of the vehicle. The latter would have quickly reported the theft and a report was made to the patrol officers of the Quebec City Police Department. The vehicle, described as a limousine on Parliament Hill, was tracked down the next day in the Montreal area. Two young men are being targeted by police for this theft, which is unusual to say the least, but no charges have yet been filed.
The unmarked black vehicle had no distinctive markings.
The minister contacted by our parliamentary office is not hiding it.
“The vehicle was stolen on December 5th. “He was found the next day,” his office confirmed in a written statement. “An investigation is ongoing and in order not to jeopardize the process we will have no further comment.”
Explosion of flights
This theft comes amid the explosion of this type of crime in Quebec. Between January and November 2023 alone, there were no fewer than 13,900 thefts in the province. That's nearly 4,000 more than the 10,500 the Insurance Bureau of Canada reported for all of 2022.
The vast majority of these thefts occur on the island of Montreal. Between 2017 and 2022, the number of thefts in the Montreal City Police Service area had already increased by 93%.
“It really worries us,” says Jesse Caron, automotive expert at CAA-Quebec. He says the new technology makes life easier for thieves, who amplify the signal from smart keys to steal cars.
Jesse Caron, Automotive Expert, CAA-Quebec Photo courtesy of CAA-Quebec
Once stolen, the vehicles are quickly exported abroad in containers at the port of Montreal, usually to countries in the Middle East or West Africa.
Increased surveillance in the port
In October, our Bureau of Investigation lifted the veil on surveillance gaps by the Canada Border Services Agency, which lacked the staff, equipment and will to limit the departure of thousands of cars each year.
The file ended up in the House of Commons, where members of the Public Safety Committee vowed to look into the matter in the coming weeks. Minister Dominic Leblanc also said he wanted to visit facilities at the Port of Montreal to see how exports were controlled there.
-In collaboration with Phillipe Langlois, Félix Séguin and Marc-André Gagnon
More spectacular flights
The police chief's car
On August 30, we learned that Longueuil Police Chief Patrick Bélanger had his company vehicle, a 2023 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, stolen. His badge and other personal items were found inside at the time of the theft. Luckily, a woman walking her dog in a park in East Montreal was able to track certain items, including the badge. A cyclist, in turn, found the wallet. The vehicle was found in Longueuil a few hours after its disappearance.
An SUV from the Sûreté du Québec
In mid-August, an unmarked Sûreté du Québec vehicle was stolen in the Saint-Henri district of Montreal. The theft of the 2022 Chevrolet Subburban luxury vehicle, valued at approximately $100,000, was reported to Montreal police. However, it was the SQ's main crimes that were then entrusted with the investigation.
Attacked with machetes
In October, an outright theft occurred in Saint-Eustache, on Montreal's north shore. Two men were injured by a thief with a machete as he tried to steal a Cadillac Escalade in a fenced-in yard of a business. The thieves were caught in the yard after being spotted by staff. One of them even took a loader to attack one of the thieves. His accomplice managed to sneak in from behind and injure two employees with a machete.
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