Bills Tabled Tackle Auto Theft and White Collar Crime.

OTTAWA, On: The Government of Canada has reintroduced key legislation to combat fraud by bringing in tougher sentencing as well as measures to help victims of white-collar crime, said James Lunney, MP for Nanaimo-Alberni.

 “Legislation would make jail time mandatory, with at least two years for fraud over $1 million.  Furthermore, we could see sentences increased with the addition of aggravating factors, “Lunney stated.

Aggravating factors would include: the financial and psychological impact of the fraud on the victim, the offender’s failure to comply with applicable licensing rules or professional standards and the magnitude, complexity, and duration of the fraud and the degree of planning that went into it.

Additional measures in the Bill require judges to consider demanding restitution to victims. The offender would be prohibited from taking employment or undertaking volunteer work involving authority over other people’s money.  The proposed amendments will also include a provision to permit the court to receive a Community Impact Statement that would describe the losses suffered as a result of fraud committed against a particular community, such as a neighbourhood, an association or a senior’s group.

“Too many people have been harmed by large scale fraud and we are taking steps to ensure victims’ voices are heard, not only by the courts, but by those who committed the crimes, “said Lunney.

Minister of Justice, Hon. Rob Nicholson, also announced the introduction of legislation in the Senate to tackle property crime, including the serious crimes of auto theft and trafficking in property obtained by crime.

“Canadians are stuck with costs of more than $1 billion each year due to auto theft; this is a huge issue in all of British Columbia but especially in the lower mainland,” said Lunney.  

The proposed legislation would give law enforcement and the courts better tools to tackle auto theft and would: create a separate offence of "theft of a motor vehicle", carrying a mandatory  prison sentence of 6 months for conviction of a third or subsequent offence - establish a new offence for altering, destroying or removing a vehicle identification number (VIN)- make it an offence to traffic in property obtained by crime and make it an offence to possess such property for the purpose of trafficking.

Auto theft often also results in dangerous driving, “joy-riding” and high speed chases which compromise the safety of our streets, and pose significant threat to both citizens and law enforcement officers.

These proposed amendments to the Criminal Code provide Canada Border Services with tools to identify and prevent stolen property from leaving the country, and address the problem of the exportation of stolen vehicles from Canada by organized crime.

“These new measures aim to disrupt criminal enterprises and organized crime and work to ensure the safety and security of all Canadians. This is just part of our continuing effort to strengthen the criminal justice system,” concluded Lunney.