Steal a car, lose your driver's licence under new Ontario proposal
CTV
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria and Solicitor General Michael Kerzner will detail the measures aimed at preventing violent auto theft at a news conference Tuesday morning.
The Ford government wants to attach a 10-year driver’s licence suspension to a first conviction of auto theft that involved violence, use of weapon, force, or where the theft was motivated by financial gain.
The suspension could extend to 15 years for a second offence, and a lifetime driving ban on a third.
Sarkaria describes car theft as a cowardly crime that can traumatize its victims. The government says a car is stolen every 14 minutes in Ontario.
In mid-March, Toronto’s Chief of Police revealed that in 2023, a vehicle was stolen in the city every 40 minutes.
Myron Demkiw said that in the first few month of 2024, the number of carjackings had more than doubled over the same period the year before. The number of home break-ins to steal cars have already surpassed all those counted in 2023.
