GOOD QUESTION!

    The UCDA has been trying for two years to get access for dealers to the VINs of exported vehicles from the Canadian Border Services Agency. These VINs are often used on stolen vehicles to revin or clone, to trick buyers into thinking they are legit vehicles, when, in fact, the “real” vehicle left the country months or years ago.

    The CBSA shares this data with Carfax and the Équité Association (representing insurers) but not the UCDA.

    This prompted Minister of Parliament, Dane Lloyd, to ask during Question Period last week, the following question:

    “The Liberals are failing to stop car theft. CBSA has Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) that could flag stolen vehicles but won’t share it with Canadian dealers. Instead, they have given an American company a monopoly – costing Canadian consumers $40M a year to access our own data. It’s time for the Liberals to give Canadians their data and end this absurd monopoly.”

    Speaking of questions, here are some the CBSA asked the UCDA about our request for access and that we answered months ago …

    Why do you believe that the information would be a benefit to the public, and that the release of the information outweighs the risk of injury to the public?

    The vehicles our motor vehicle dealer members buy are sold back into the marketplace to consumers. The practice by criminals of “re-VINing” or “cloning” stolen vehicles to mask their true identity, in order to fool buyers into believing the vehicle is safe, reliable and not stolen, is rampant. As authorities crack down on auto theft and illegal export, organized criminals have increasingly pivoted to these practices in the domestic market to successfully sell stolen vehicles. Exported Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) are desired because they are (1) real VINs that are (2) not in Canada any longer, and (3) can be used to create a fake identity for a stolen car that will trick a buyer long enough to let the thieves get away with their ill-gotten proceeds. While we are, of course, concerned with protecting our members from unknowingly buying and selling stolen vehicles, we are equally concerned that our members are not led into selling stolen goods to consumers who will then suffer harm as a result, including unknowingly selling the vehicle once again into the marketplace. This not only hurts the buyer, but brings our industry into disrepute.

     Simply put, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) data we seek is another data tool to keep stolen vehicles out of the marketplace.

     The risk of harm to the public, through disclosure of the data to the UCDA, is minimal. The exported vehicle (and VIN) is unlikely to ever return to Canada; such instances would be rare. There would be no way for anyone to misuse the data to create “VIN lists” as our members would only be searching a VIN they already have in front of them that they are being asked to consider buying or selling.

    How would the data be protected?

    UCDA always has security and privacy top of mind. We meet and exceed industry standard network security.

    The only information we seek from CBSA would be to confirm if a VIN a member searched was exported, when and to where. We do not seek personal information. No one other than the dealer requesting the search would make use of the data.

    What information would be provided in terms of caution to the dealerships regarding unverified data?

    We would use language, as we do with all our searches, on the search return and on our search website, to alert the user that the information is not guaranteed to be accurate and is intended for reference purposes only.

    How would the data be integrated or offered to your dealerships?

    We could simply combine this search with searches our members are already running, cost-effectively.

    Is there any other information that you believe the CBSA should consider in making its decision?

    The UCDA websites at http://www.ucda.ca and http://www.ucda.org explain our mandate and purpose, but essentially it is to improve the professionalism of our industry, advocate for our members and ensure a level playing field for dealers, while encouraging an informed and protected consumer.

    We work closely with governments, law enforcement and regulators to fulfill our objectives in this vibrant industry. As you may know, we attended the Auto Theft Summit in Ottawa in February of 2024, which really kick-started the fight against what had become an epidemic, and real progress is being made. We view this issue as part of that positive process.