Leave Canada? Sue automakers? Victims consider their options as auto thefts surge
CTV
As the Greater Toronto Area confronts an auto theft crisis, some residents are considering bold – or arguably radical – action.
As the Greater Toronto Area confronts an auto theft crisis, some residents are considering bold – or arguably radical – action.
Kamran Hussain, who moved to Canada from India on an international student visa in 2017 and has completed the arduous process of becoming a permanent resident, said he has thought about leaving the country after he woke up on the morning of Jan. 11 to find nothing but the shattered glass of his car window on his east Toronto driveway.
"I came out and the car was gone," said Hussain, referring to his 2022 Toyota Highlander.
For the 30-year-old telecom worker, the already complicated task of becoming a Canadian permanent resident had been made harder by the pandemic, when various bureaucratic steps were backed up. But he said he had chosen to make a home in Canada because he saw it as safe.
That's a reputation he now feels has been cast in doubt by the auto theft epidemic.
"I'm looking for options," he said when asked if he was seriously considering leaving Canada.
"I left my country because of the instability there," he said. "But now, with the growing issues that are happening here in terms of safety, the thefts, the break-ins and rising crime, it is a big concern for me."
