Her car was stolen 3 times in the past year. She says consumers shouldn't bear the brunt of the problem

A Toronto woman whose car was stolen three times in the past year — and who had a rental car stolen too — says nobody is taking the problem seriously enough.

Kristin Shensel, a real estate broker, said her 2019 Range Rover was stolen three times since January 2023 from the street in front of her house. A rental car she used last year, a Jaguar, was also stolen. 

Her car was first stolen in January 2023, then again in June 2023 and again on Wednesday night. The rental car was stolen two days after she got it in February 2023.

"If everyone wasn't making money off this car theft problem in this country, then they would stop it. The insurance companies would put an end to it, the car manufacturers would put an end to it. No one is stopping it because no one cares," Shensel said.

Until the problem affects the bottom line of insurance companies, car manufacturers and rental car agencies, she said she doesn't think it will be solved.

"Until people start losing money, nobody is going to come up with a solution. It's all on the back of the consumers to fight against. It's exhausting."

Shensel said her Range Rover was recovered twice but she won't keep the vehicle if it is recovered again. This time, she said, she'll go with a different vehicle.

"It was a deal and it came in front of us. I absolutely regret all of it. If we get the car back, it's gone," she said. "I will get something much more modest."

The latest car theft to befall Shensel came ahead of a daylong auto theft summit in Ottawa on Thursday that drew representatives from government, municipalities and law enforcement agencies. All agreed the problem is complex with several potential remedies and requires a whole-of-society effort.

Officials committed to finalizing a plan, to be released in coming weeks, to tackle a phenomenon that affects thousands of Canadian households annually.

"The rise over the last years has been alarming," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the gathering as it got underway.

Trudeau described how Canadian vehicles are turning up in places like Ghana and Nigeria.

"Organized crime is becoming more brazen, and the overseas market for stolen cars is expanding," the prime minister said.

"Cracking down on auto theft means bringing law enforcement, border services, port authorities, car makers and insurance companies together."