The federal government is taking steps to crack down on auto theft.

A summit is planned in Ottawa on February 8th.

“The scale of the issue around auto theft requires a coordination between all governments, federal, provincial and municipal police forces, Border Service officers, auto manufacturers,  need to come together to take action quickly on the issue of auto theft,” says Federal Public Safety Minister Dominic Leblanc.

He adds leaders will come together to exchange information and plans to work on joint efforts to be deployed by governments at every level, including Law Enforcement agencies at all levels.

“The thing that concerns us is it’s increasingly becoming a violent crime, where people are assaulted in the process of stealing vehicles,” Leblanc stressed.

In 2022, vehicle theft rose by 50 per cent in Quebec, 48.3 per cent in Ontario, 34.5 per cent in Atlantic Canada, and 18.35 per cent in Alberta, according to industry estimates.

The federal government says the majority of stolen vehicles exported are destined for Africa and the Middle East, with some stolen vehicles remaining in Canada enabling other crimes to be committed with the vehicles before they are destroyed afterwards.