Transport Canada held an online consultation from May 20 - July 19, 2024, to gather feedback from Canadians on how to further strengthen the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards related to vehicle theft prevention. This report summarizes what we heard during this public consultation.
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Introduction
Motor vehicle theft is a complex, multi-faceted issue that has had profound impacts on our communities. Transport Canada has been working closely with its partners in industry, all levels of government, and law enforcement to find solutions.
In May 2024, the Government of Canada released its National Action Plan on Combatting Auto Theft, which identifies several measures that it is undertaking to address the issue. One of Transport Canada’s key commitments under the Action Plan is to update safety standards related to vehicle theft prevention under the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS).
To that end, in May 2024, Transport Canada launched a Let's Talk Transportation: Updating Canada’s theft protection options for new vehicles consultation that served to gather feedback on how to further strengthen the CMVSS.
Based on the feedback received, Transport Canada will work toward updating some of the existing standards in the CMVSS to their latest version, such as the National Standard of Canada CAN/ULC S338-98, and will also work toward incorporating the United Nations (UN) World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulation No.162, which supersedes the UN Regulations currently referenced in CMVSS.
For Canadians this means that, in the near future, new vehicles would be required to be equipped with anti-theft immobilization systems that meet the most up to date standards. Meeting the most up to date standards would help to harden new vehicles against the efforts of thieves and prevent unauthorized use. Along with other measures being pursued by governments, industry, and law enforcement, this would positively contribute to the fight against vehicle theft.
Context
In Canada, legislative authorities under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act allow Transport Canada to establish regulations and safety standards for new and imported vehicles; these are described in the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS), which are part of the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations. The CMVSS includes many standards developed by independent expert bodies and international organizations, such as the Underwriters Laboratories of Canada (ULC) and the United Nations (UN) World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations. While Canada has its own unique needs, it does not regulate in isolation, so it is important to align our motor vehicle regulations, to the extent possible, with those of other countries to promote global alignment.
Regulations and standards under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act must be linked to a reduction in injury or death, which is why the existing requirements do not address theft-for-profit associated with organized crime. Instead, the CMVSS approaches vehicle theft through a safety lens by setting out measures for theft prevention through the use of immobilization systems and describing specified designs and performance criteria. An anti-theft immobilization device is a system that, when armed, prevents the unauthorized use of a vehicle by “locking” a control unit (such as the engine control unit) to prevent its activation. A coded key, a keypad, or a remote device is required to disarm the system.
Our approach
Setting the proper foundation to improve Transport Canada’s vehicle theft prevention requirements is critical and Transport Canada is continuing to engage with stakeholders and industry partners to inform potential areas for action. A key part of this effort was to launch a Let's Talk Transportation: Updating Canada’s theft protection options for new vehicles consultation to gather feedback from our stakeholders, partners, and the general public. This online consultation, which was open for 60 days between May 20 and July 19, 2024, sought input on updating the theft protection standards options in “CMVSS 114 – Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention” for new vehicles and also collected comments on questions about measures that could be taken within the scope of Transport Canada’s existing authorities.
CMVSS 114 requires that vehicles of certain prescribed classes be equipped with an immobilization system that relies on standards produced by expert bodies. It also states that the immobilization system must be designed to meet one of four options for compliance, as listed in CMVSS 114, subsection (4):
- National Standard of Canada CAN/ULC S338-98 (May 1998),
- Part III of UN Regulation No. 97 (August 8, 2007),
- Part IV of UN Regulation No. 116 (February 10, 2009), or
- Requirements set out in subsections (8) to (21) of CMVSS 114.
However, some of the requirements referenced in this subsection are now outdated; more recent versions of these requirements provide additional clarity and better reflect the current vehicle landscape. At the same time, amending CMVSS 114 to adopt the latest versions or remove obsolete options would require companies to update their compliance documents and potentially their immobilization systems to reflect the revised standard. While these changes could support the overall approach to combatting auto theft, this would place some burden on affected companies to adapt to this change.
The Let’s Talk Transportation consultation focused on 3 questions:
- Given that the CMVSS 114 does not incorporate the most recent versions of the standards that can be used to comply, we are interested in your perspective on requiring companies to comply with the newest versions of those standards.
- Are there other vehicle-specific regulatory measures that Transport Canada should consider, mitigating vehicle theft from a safety perspective?
- Voluntary agreements, such as a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), can address new technologies faster than standards or regulations. Given the rapid pace of technological change, should voluntary agreements between Transport Canada and companies (like vehicle manufacturers) be considered to address vehicle theft? To what extent should voluntary agreements complement or be used instead of formal requirements?
Feedback grouped by theme
We received one response through the Let’s Talk Transportation consultation website and 10 responses via email from stakeholders.
General comments related to updating CMVSS 114
Broadly, all stakeholders were in favor of updating the CAN/ULC S338 reference in CMVSS 114 to the 2023 version and many felt that companies should be given 3 to 5 years to comply with any regulatory changes, based on how complicated the changes would be.
Other stakeholder comments included:
- CAN/ULC S338 should be the only option offered.
- UN Regulation No. 162 should be adopted into CVMSS 114.
- Information Note: UN Regulation No. 162 includes updated requirements related to keypads and electrical/electronic devices (e.g., a remote control). The parts of the UN Regulations that are currently referenced by CMVSS 114 have essentially been superseded by UN Regulation No. 162.
- UN Regulations should only be considered if they offer the same level of protection as found in CAN/ULC S338.
- Some support ambulatory references (meaning that the regulation always references the latest version of the standards as they are updated), while others did not support ambulatory references or requested more information about how ambulatory references would be put in place.
- Mixed views on the need for sections 8 to 21 of CMVSS 114: some stakeholders felt these sections were necessary, while others want them removed.
- Sections 15 and 21 of CMVSS 114 should be updated to clarify how long the immobilizer system should be able to resist certain types of attacks and tools used in theft.
- UN Regulation No. 162 should be adopted into CVMSS 114.
Other regulatory measures
Additional feedback pertaining to other regulatory measures was provided:
- TC should consider requiring automotive cybersecurity penetration testing.
- The start/stop button used on vehicles should be removed and only a physical key should be allowed.
Voluntary agreements
There was consensus among respondents that they did not support the use of voluntary agreements with companies. However, there was one suggestion to introduce voluntary manufacturer software updates as an interim measure.
Additional comments
Some of the feedback that was received was out of the scope of the consultation, though these comments have been noted.
- Some respondents felt that initiatives should be created to educate drivers on vehicle theft. It was also suggested that the government should create a link between auto theft and public safety.
- In terms of the National Action Plan, respondents felt there was a need to establish a clear timeline for its implementation and that the federal government should work closely with provincial and territorial counterparts on its implementation. It was also suggested that there is a need to improve the technology used to intercept stolen vehicles at ports and other transportation hubs, like railyards. Other areas highlighted by respondents included the need for broader support to law enforcement, the importance of international information sharing, and updates to the Criminal Code.
- Some felt that the scope of the Canadian Automotive Service Information Standard (CASIS) should be updated.
- Stakeholders were concerned that rules related to the “right to repair” and third-party access would work against companies’ initiatives to keep vehicles more secure in the prevention of theft.
- Concerns were raised about the issue of stolen vehicles being re-VINned. The process of “re-VINning” is when the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) of a stolen vehicle is replaced with a different VIN to resell that vehicle.
Next steps
The consultation has been valuable in providing Transport Canada the information needed to proceed with a proposal to update CMVSS 114 and, more broadly, feedback on other initiatives aimed at reducing vehicle theft in Canada.
The feedback from this consultation will be used to develop updates to CMVSS 114 that may include:
- updating CAN/ULC S338 to the 2023 version,
- incorporating UN Regulation No. 162,
- removing references to UN Regulation Nos. 97 and 116, and
- removing sections 8 to 21 of CMVSS 114.
Based on the feedback that we received, we are also considering adding temporary provisions to give companies (like vehicle manufacturers) enough time to comply with any proposed amendments to CMVSS 114 that may be put forward.
All this work is being done with the goal of publishing amendments to the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations in the Canada Gazette before the end of 2025.