Justice minister says door is open to tougher penalties for auto theft

Canada's justice minister says he's looking at options for increasing the penalties for car theft, after the federal government convened a national summit on the issue.

In an interview that aired Sunday on, Virani said solving the problem of rising car thefts was a priority for the government.

«One of the principal aspects of the Criminal Code is acting as a deterrent for criminal behaviour — we need to be understanding that and how we can improve the tools in the code to emphasize that deterrent effect,» he told CBC chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton.

«I'm taking a deep dive into that legislation,» he said.

«People have also talked to me about potentially raising the maximum penalty, and also looking at when weapons are involved. These are all factors that I'm considering quite closely.»

The federal government says an estimated 90,000 cars are stolen annually in Canada, resulting in about $1 billion in costs to Canadian insurance policy-holders and taxpayers.

The issue has now become a major political question, with the government convening the national summit this week and the Conservatives putting forward their own potential solutions on the issue.

Just before the summit, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre proposed a suite of legal reforms to increase penalties for car theft, including tougher restrictions and penalties for repeat offenders.

«Canadians don't need another summit, they need a common-sense plan to stop the theft and end the crime,» he said Monday.

Speaking to Barton, Virani noted there is a mandatory minimum penalty for auto theft, with a minimum of six months in jail for those convicted of a third offence. There's also a maximum penalty for summary conviction auto theft offences, which the