“I’m prepared to back up police when it comes to combating auto theft. But Olivia Chow won’t say how much she’ll cut their budget by." — Mark Saunders

Toronto – Today, Mark Saunders released his 5-point plan to combat auto theft, including working to provide police with more resources to crack down on its connections to organized crime.

In Ontario, a car is stolen every 48 minutes. Auto thefts in Toronto skyrocketed by 81 per cent from 2014 to 2021, and the city experienced a 78 per cent increase in violent carjackings from 2021 to 2022. The proceeds from stolen vehicles are funding organized crime, including the trafficking of weapons, drugs, and other related crimes.

“Olivia Chow hasn’t said how much she will cut the police budget, but we know she’s tried to defund the police her entire career as a professional politician,” said Saunders. “At a time when car jackings and thefts are on the rise, I will do whatever it takes to ensure our men and women in uniform have what they need to protect car owners and lock up car thieves.”

As Mayor, Mark Saunders will deliver a 5-point plan to combat auto theft by:

• Ensuring the City of Toronto provides the necessary resources to police to combat this epidemic of car theft crime.
• Creating an online process for reporting the theft of a vehicle or licence plates to speed up the process. This will also allow the victim to begin the claim process with their insurance company along with Service Ontario for the replacement of plates.
• Working with the provincial government to support the recently announced auto theft task force.
• Calling on the federal government to get involved as they are responsible for the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) which manages Canada’s borders and ports. The CBSA has not been given enough resources to stop the millions of dollars in vehicles being shipped overseas.
• Working with the federal government to review and revise vehicle manufacturing regulations to make it harder for car thieves to steal cars.

The choice is clear. Olivia Chow will cut police resources. Saunders will ensure the police have the resources necessary to crack down on car thieves.