There's an easy solution to the car-theft crisis. Too bad the Trudeau government isn't paying attention
I'm not finished with the venture world, but today marks Day #1 as a Toronto Star Columnist
If you read my piece earlier this month on the late Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney, you may recall that the full column ran on the op-ed page of The Toronto Star. That wasn’t a coincidence, as March 20th marks Day One as an official Columnist at Canada’s largest circulation newspaper. When I left the senior executive ranks of CIBC last year, I said that the time had come to chart my next adventure. Life is truly short (and those two-year non-compete clauses don’t trigger themselves.)
A few of you had predictions about what the future might hold: a new fund start-up, philanthropy, politics, public service, etc. One or more of those paths will come to pass before too long — rest assured. And feel free to keep sending along career ideas!
I’m going to keep on blogging, and there are times when I need Substack’s endless space to do a topic justice (like last October’s 2,700+ word piece: “My Canada does not include the Hamas flag”). That said, I’m looking forward to the unique pressures that come with this new challenge; being worthy of your time and attention, each column, is a lot like aspiring to always find the best investments for my LPs. And, if you’d be kind enough to read these regular pieces, you have the choice of buying today’s hardcopy today, a $65 annual digital subscription via the newspaper website, or accessing it via your Apple News App.
If you’re wondering why a Conservative is writing for The Star, you’ve obviously not heard of my friend Dalton Camp. That fact that Tamara Rich figures prominently in the first piece (second, if you include the one on MBM) should tell you something. Every quality paper the world over benefits from diverse opinions, and I appreciate the opportunity. Besides, as a former Star Paperboy and Photo Stringer, this might be called the natural evolution of a relationship that dates back to 1977. Wish me luck:
I can’t separate Canada’s car theft mayhem from the never-ending court case against Trucker Convoy sympathizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber.
Our criminal justice system appears unable to deal with increasingly violent armed gangs, but it has had both the time and budget to spend 38 days in court and counting on a trial involving bouncy castles and truck horns.
That’s 38 more days than police and the Canada Border Security Agency have spent looking for your stolen car as it sits in a container at Montreal’s federal Port Authority before being shipped to its new owner in Africa or Eastern Europe.
You might not have supported the convoy’s tactics, but armed truckers didn’t break into homes in Ottawa’s Rockcliffe neighbourhood looking to overthrow the government.
Eighteen months ago, industrious thieves were utilizing “relay technology” that allowed them to mimic the signal that starts your car remotely. All these tech savvy criminals had to do was string a device near your front door, connect to a key fob, and they’d be driving off with your Lexus in 90 seconds flat. There was no need to break into your home and risk stirring you from your slumber.
To protect your key fobs, the advice was to buy a $500 shielded box. That recommendation followed hundreds of stories about a variety of late model vehicles being driven way in the dead of night. A certain type of Chevrolet SUV was so popular with criminals that there was a good chance that your replacement vehicle would be stolen from the same driveway within days of receiving your insurance settlement.
When a friend suggested to his local police division that officers wait across from his house and catch the gang in action when they invariably returned to steal his replacement SUV, one constable had another idea: “Buy a different truck.” Disconcerting advice, considering auto thefts rose 300 per cent in Toronto between 2015 and 2022.
Hit this link to read the rest in today’s Star!
MRM
(This post is an Opinion Piece)