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Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Sunday – CBC.ca

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The latest:

  • Trudeau to address Canadians again at 11:15 a.m. ET; CBC News will cover it live. 
  • Panama reverses decision to bar Holland America ship from transiting waterway. 
  • Canada now has 5,655 confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases and 61 deaths. 
  • Ontario to crack down on price gouging on essentials, bans gatherings of 5 people or more.
  • Sophie Grégoire Trudeau says she has recovered from COVID-19.
  • Trump backs away from calling for a quarantine for coronavirus hotspots in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
  • U.S., with more than 122,000 cases, surpasses China in number of infected.
  • U.K. households getting letter warning things will get worse before they get better.
  • A COVID-19 glossary: What the terms mean and some subtle differences.
  • INTERACTIVE / Tracking the spread of coronavirus.

A Holland American cruise ship hit with a COVID-19 outbreak will be allowed through the Panama Canal, as it heads for its final destination in Florida.

Since a stop in Chile on March 14, the ship has been turned away from several ports after reporting that some of those on board were suffering from flu-like symptoms. Panama on Saturday reversed its decision to block the ship from the canal.

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Global Affairs Canada says there are 248 Canadians stranded aboard MS Zaandam, where some passengers have tested positive for the virus and four people have died. No Canadians on the vessel are reported ill.

Passengers of Holland America’s cruise ship Zaandam are transferred to the Rotterdam cruise ship in Panama City bay on Saturday.The Zaandam cruise ship has been stranded at sea since March 14 after several South American ports refused to let it dock due to dozens of people aboard having shown flu-like symptoms. (Ivan Pisarenko/AFP via Getty Images)

The Dutch-owned operator said on Saturday that it would be transferring asymptomatic people on board to Holland America’s sister ship the Rotterdam, which was also given permission to transit the Panama Canal.

Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne says he has been co-ordinating with his Panamanian counterpart and will continue efforts to bring any non-infected Canadians home once the ship docks in Fort Lauderdale.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will give his daily briefing to Canadians on the coronavirus pandemic at 11:15 a.m. ET. CBC News will cover it live right here.  

WATCH | A COVID-19 patient asks Canadians to obey doctors, government:

B.C. resident Erin Leigh, 38, is recovering from the novel coronavirus in hospital. She told CBC News she had never experienced an illness like COVID-19. 7:00

The number of cases of the respiratory illness stands at 663,740 across the globe, with more than more than 30,000 deaths. Canada now has 5,655 confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases, and at least 61 deaths, with 508 people recovered, according to figures compiled late on Saturday. 

Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Saturday announced stiff new measures to prevent price gouging for important products during the COVID-19 crisis. He said individuals found guilty of price gouging could face fines of $100,000, while company directors could face fines of $500,000 as well as a year in jail. Corporations may be fined as much as $10 million.

Canada’s most populous province is also prohibiting gatherings of five people or more, replacing an order that barred public events of over 50 people. The new order does not apply to households with five people. Child care centres supporting health care workers and first responders are exempt. Funerals will be permitted with up to 10 people at one time.

A woman arrives at the COVID-19 assessment centre at the Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto on March 24. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)

Transport Canada on Saturday has laid out new rules, in effect on Monday, for domestic travel, meaning anyone showing symptoms of COVID-19 won’t be allowed to board a domestic flight or inter-city passenger train.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. But for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the virus can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and lead to death.

More than 130,000 people have recovered, according to Johns Hopkins’ tally.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, says she has recovered from COVID-19 after contracting the illness while on a trip to the United Kingdom earlier this month.

WATCH | Sophie Grégoire Trudeau says she’s recovered from COVID-19:

In a series of videos on Instagram, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau says she has been given a ‘clear bill of health’ from health officials. She thanked Canadians for their support and offered encouragement to get through the pandemic. 2:08

As the pandemic continues to shift westward, the situation has calmed in China, where some restrictions on people’s lives have now been lifted. Six subway lines have restored limited service in Wuhan, where the virus first emerged in December.

China reported 45 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for Saturday, down from 54 on the previous day, with all but one involving travellers from overseas, the country’s health authority said on Sunday local time. China also reported five new deaths on Saturday, all of which were in Wuhan in Hubei province, where the COVID-19 respiratory illness was first identified. A total of 3,300 people have now died in mainland China, with a reported 81,439 infections.

The Chinese Embassy in Canada said on Twitter on Saturday that the Bank of China donated medical supplies to Canada, including 30,000 medical masks.

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Champagne welcomed the donations, saying on Twitter: “In the face of a global pandemic, supporting each other is not only the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do.”

In February, Canada donated 16 tonnes of personal protective equipment to China as it grappled with the peak of its outbreak.

WATCH | Infected Canadian flight attendants speak out:

Airline crews tell CBC they didn’t feel adequately protected from COVID-19 after several employees test positive for the illness. 2:01

In the United States, New York remains the worst-hit city, but Americans are bracing for worsening conditions elsewhere, with worrisome infection numbers being reported in New Orleans, Chicago and Detroit. In New York City, home to more than a third of the country’s cases, the Javits Convention Center has been turned into a temporary hospital and will start treating patients Monday.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he wants four more temporary hospitals set up to meet the growing number of coronavirus cases — more than 44,000 cases statewide and more than 500 deaths. The United Nations donated 250,000 protective face masks to New York City, and Cuomo delayed the state’s presidential primary from April 28 to June 23.

Members of the Rhode Island National Guard look for passengers getting off from a train from New York as it arrives Saturday in Westerly, R.I. (David Goldman/Associated Press)

U.S. President Donald Trump backed away from calling for a quarantine for coronavirus hotspots in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, instead directing Saturday night that a “strong travel advisory” be issued to stem the spread of the outbreak.

Trump had told reporters earlier that he had spoken with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, among others, who wanted the federal government to restrict travel from the New York metropolitan area to their states.

“They’re having problems down in Florida. A lot of New Yorkers are going down. We don’t want that,” Trump told reporters.

The notion of a quarantine had been sharply criticized by Cuomo and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont.

Trump later said on Twitter: “I have asked the @CDCgov to issue a strong Travel Advisory, to be administered by the Governors, in consultation with the Federal Government. A quarantine will not be necessary.”

The U.S. now has roughly 122,000 confirmed cases, the highest figure in the world. The U.S. death count crossed 2,100 on Saturday, more than double the level from two days ago.

Mexico’s deputy health minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell on Saturday called for all residents in Mexico to stay at home for a month, saying it was the only way to reduce the transmission rate. Mexican health authorities said the country had 848 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Saturday, 131 more than the previous day, and 16 deaths.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a letter being sent to 30 million households in the U.K. that “things will get worse before they get better.” The government released the letter Saturday as Johnson continued to self-isolate after testing positive for COVID-19 and the number of cases in the U.K. rose to 17,089, with 1,019 deaths.

Dr. Howard Njoo, Canada’s deputy chief public health officer, has said the fight against the pandemic is far from over and that it could include a second wave.

We have now completed tests for over 184,000 people in Canada, which is 84,000 additional people tested since Monday,” Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said Saturday.

Air Canada lines up additional flights

Since March 21, Air Canada has operated nine special flights in collaboration with the federal government to bring Canadians home from various countries — three flights from Morocco, three from Peru, two from Ecuador and one from Spain. The airline issued a news release on Saturday, announcing the following flights for Canadians:

WATCH | Toronto doctor describes what it’s like on the COVID-19 front lines:

Dr. Joshua Tepper is the president and CEO of North York General Hospital in Ontario.  1:53

Here’s what’s happening in Canada’s provinces and territories

In British Columbia, the provincial government reported 92 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, boosting the provincial total to 884. On a more positive note, provincial health officer Doctor Bonnie Henry said 396 people have recovered from the illness in B.C. Read more in this analysis about how the curve could be flattening in B.C., but any definitive declaration of “turning the corner” cannot yet be made.

Mandatory curfews have been implemented in an Indigenous community in northeastern Alberta, and residents are being warned that member benefits could be lost — and even stricter provisions brought in — if they don’t comply. Determined to keep COVID-19 out of the community of about 750 people, Fort McKay First Nation and McKay Métis had put up a barrier near the entrance of the community. Members need to log in and out, and visitors are not allowed in. Read more about what’s happening in Alberta, including a story from Edmonton about a laptop drive aiming to connect marginalized people during the coronavirus pandemic.

WATCH | Canmore, Alta., and other small towns worried about influx of visitors:

As some Canadians across the country go to cottage country to isolate with their families during the COVID-19 crisis, small town mayors worry about the stress it will put on local health-care systems. 1:49

Saskatchewan said there’s been a large increase in cases connected with a snowmobile rally held earlier this month. Health officials now say 18 cases in total have been linked to the event, and all of them are self-isolating at home. Read more about what’s happening in Saskatchewan.

Manitoba is expanding its COVID-19 testing to include symptomatic health workers, people who live in group care settings (including long-term care and remote work camps), inmates and more. Chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin also said all people living on First Nations in the province who are experiencing respiratory symptoms will be tested. Read more about what’s happening in Manitoba, which recorded its first death on Friday.

Messages on a sidewalk showing support for health-care workers are seen in Toronto on Saturday. (Alan Habbick/CBC)


Ontario is cracking down on price gouging for essential hygiene and medical supplies. On Saturday, Premier Doug Ford announced an emergency order bringing in immediate new fines and potential jail time. “I have zero tolerance for this kind of nonsense,” he said. The province has also banned gatherings of five people or more, effective immediately, with some small exceptions. Read more about what’s happening in Ontario.

Quebec Deputy Premier Genevieve Guilbault is announcing police checkpoints as of this afternoon in eight regions outside major Quebec cities where the population is deemed more at risk. Guilbault says only essential travel will be allowed in those regions and that Quebec provincial police have also set up checkpoints near the Canada-U.S. border to intercept snowbirds returning to the province to ensure they understand there’s a 14-day quarantine. Read more about what’s happening in Quebec.

New Brunswick has announced a special line for health-care workers to call if they have symptoms. Public Health in the province is instructing health workers who’ve developed symptoms since March 20 to self isolate. Read more about what’s happening in New Brunswick, including news on how many layoffs are being blamed on the pandemic, and how physical distancing is affecting parents of newborns.

In Nova Scotia, the head of the province’s telephone health service says anyone who gets a referral will get a COVID-19 test. Dr. Todd Howlett, medical director of 811, said the service is adapting to meet the demand created by the outbreak. Read more about what’s happening in Nova Scotia.

Prince Edward Island has reported a total of 11 cases of COVID-19, with two new cases, one woman in her 20s and another in her 50s who both travelled internationally. Read more about what’s happening in P.E.I.

WATCH | How COVID-19 is affecting grocery stores:

As Canadians continue to grapple with physical distancing and how to deal with COVID-19, most grocery store workers still have to go to work and come in contact with others. 2:17

Newfoundland and Labrador health officials are expressing concerns after finding the first case of community transmission of COVID-19. Chief medical officer of health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says a patient admitted to a hospital in St. Anthony, N.L., was one of the 18 new cases announced on Saturday. Fitzgerald describes the case as a significant development because the patient had no history of travel or exposure to a known case of COVID-19. Read more about what’s happening in N.L.

Health authorities in the Nunavik region of northern Quebec have confirmed a case of the novel coronavirus. Kativik Regional Police say a woman is in self-isolation while “sharing a house with others” in Salluit, a hamlet of about 1,200 people on the Hudson Strait. Residents of that community, as well as Kuujjuaraapik and Whapmagoostui in northern Quebec are under a nighttime curfew, imposed Saturday.

Here’s what’s happening in the United States

From Reuters, updated at 5:00 a.m. ET

In the U.S., a 49-year-old prisoner in Oakdale, La., who was serving a 27-year prison term for a drug charge, became the first federal inmate to die from COVID-19, the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) announced late on Saturday. A total of 14 inmates and 13 staff in federal prisons across the United States have fallen ill with the virus, according to the BOP’s website.

Cities including Detroit, Chicago and New Orleans are growing as hotspots of infection, while New York City continues to be pummelled. Nurses there are calling for more masks and other gear to safeguard themselves against the virus that has so far sickened more than 52,000 people and killed over 700 in New York state, mostly in the city.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday warned residents of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut against non-essential domestic travel for 14 days.

Health officials in Detroit, where poverty and poor health are longstanding problems. The number of infections surged to 1,381, with 31 deaths, as of noon Saturday.

“At this time, the trajectory of Detroit is unfortunately even more steep than that of New York,” said Dr. Teena Chopra, the medical director of infection prevention and hospital epidemiology at the Detroit Medical Center.

WATCH | ‘We are fighting a war’ says Canadian nurse in Detroit:

Jenna Meloche lives in Amherstburg and works in Detroit where the number of COVID-19 deaths is rising. 2:05

On Friday, Trump signed a sweeping $2.2-trillion relief bill into law, only hours after it had been approved by the House of Representatives, after having been passed by the Senate earlier this week. 

He also invoked emergency powers to require General Motors Co. to build much-needed ventilators after he accused the largest U.S. automaker of “wasting time” during negotiations.

Britain has placed an order for 10,000 ventilators to be made by a consortium of companies including Ford, Airbus and Rolls-Royce as part of efforts to fight coronavirus, an industry source told Reuters.

Here’s what’s happening in Europe

From Reuters and The Associated Press, updated at 5:00 a.m. ET

The death toll in Italy reached surpassed 10,000 on Saturday, making it the highest of any country in the world. The number of fatalities surged Saturday by 889, bringing the country’s total to 10,023, according to the Civil Protection Agency.

Italy has the second highest number of cases, behind the United States. It surpassed China’s tally on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Vatican said Saturday that tests carried out in the residence where Pope Francis lives showed that the 83-year-old pontiff and his closest aides do not have coronavirus. Tests were made on 170 people in the Vatican and six were positive, including one who lives in the Santa Marta guesthouse.

WATCH | Pope Francis holds solitary Vatican service for those dealing with COVID-19 virus:

Under darkness and rain, Pope Francis holds solitary Vatican service for those dealing with COVID-19 virus 1:23

In France the next two weeks will be the toughest yet in the fight against coronavirus, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe warned on Saturday as his government raced to add intensive care beds and source protective gear. To free up intensive care beds in worst-hit areas, the army and emergency workers were this weekend stepping up the transfer of patients to less-affected regions, using a military helicopter and a specially adapted TGV train. 

By Saturday, the coronavirus had claimed 2,314 lives in France, with more than 37,575 confirmed cases, according to official figures.

In the United Kingdom, 17,089 people have tested positive and 1,019 have died of COVID-19 as of Saturday morning, the Department of Health and Social Care said on Twitter. Britons should be prepared for a “significant period” in lockdown, senior cabinet minister Michael Gove said on Sunday.

Members of Quebec’s provincial police force talk to a driver of a vehicle near the border of the United States in Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle on Saturday. (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press)

In Germany, the number of confirmed cases has risen to 52,547 and 389 people have died of the disease, statistics from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed on Sunday.

In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced his government will order a two-week ban on commuting to all non-essential businesses starting on Monday. In a publicly televised address, he said all workers are ordered to remain at home “as if it were a weekend” to “intensify” efforts to stem the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Spain is approaching the end of the second week of stay-at-home rules and the closing of most stores, but workers were allowed to go to offices and factories if they were unable to work from home. Spain reported 6,528 fatalities on Sunday, up from 5,690 the previous day, and a total of 78,797 cases.

People practice physical distancing outside a grocery shop in London on Saturday. (Alberto Pezzali/Associated Press)

Ireland reported 14 deaths on Saturday, all in the east of the country and the most in a single day so far to bring the total number of fatalities to 36, the Department of Health said. The country also reported an additional 294 confirmed cases to bring the total to 2,415. Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Friday ordered a lockdown until April 12. Travel more than two kilometres from home is banned, while all those over 70 are being instructed to “cocoon.”

In Russia, the mayor of Moscow urged residents on Saturday to stay home during the non-working week announced by President Vladimir Putin in a bid to curb the spread of the virus. Russian authorities say they recorded 1,264 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, a rise of 228, the largest daily increase since the start of the outbreak. The government says it will close all border crossings on March 30; the country has already grounded all international flights and declared next week a non-working week.

Health workers are seen with a patient at San Pedro hospital, in Logrono, northern Spain, on Saturday. (Alvaro Barrientos/Associated Press)

In southern Finland, police are preparing to enforce the new regulation aimed at ceasing all unnecessary human traffic to and from Uusimaa, the region that includes the capital, Helsinki, according to Social Affairs Minister Krista Kiuru. The Nordic country has so far confirmed 958 coronavirus cases — the vast majority of them in Uusimaa — and five deaths. The exceptional move, which is set to end April 19, affects the daily lives of some 1.7 million people, nearly a third of Finland’s population.

Switzerland’s infections topped 11,800 as the government pumped money into the economy and army medical units helped hospitals. Swiss authorities are lighting up one of their most famed landmarks, the Matterhorn, to show solidarity in the fight against the coronavirus.

People are seen at a railway station in Moscow on Saturday. (Associated Press)

Here’s a look at what’s happening in some other parts of the world

Forty-six passengers onboard the German cruise ship Artania have been reported as showing COVID-19 symptoms, according to Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan on Saturday. The Artania was allowed to pull into in Fremantle, Western Australia, on Thursday and sick passengers were taken off to be treated in Perth on Friday. The state government initially had not wanted the ship to dock and tried to divert it to a military base. There are more than 800 people onboard the vessel.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologized to the public on Sunday for imposing a three-week national lockdown, calling it harsh but “needed to win” the battle against the coronavirus pandemic. The unprecedented lockdown order, which came into effect on Wednesday to keep India’s 1.3 billion people at home for all but essential trips to places like markets or pharmacies, is meant to prevent the spread of the virus from surging and overwhelming India’s already strained health care system. Indian health officials have confirmed 867 cases of the coronavirus, including 25 deaths.

The iconic Matterhorn mountain is illuminated in Zermatt, Switzerland. (Valentin Flauraud/Keystone via AP)

In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday promised an unprecedented package of steps to cushion the world’s third-biggest economy from the pandemic, saying the country was close to a national emergency as infections surged. The size of the package will exceed that compiled in response to the global financial crisis of 2008, which was worth a total 57 trillion yen ($740 billion Cdn), Abe said.

Meanwhile, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike issued a plea following a surge in infections this week that she said put Tokyo on the brink of an emergency. She asked the tens of millions of people in the city and surrounding regions to avoid non-essential, non-urgent outings until April 12, particularly this weekend.

Japan reported 68 new cases on Sunday for more than 1,700 cases, excluding 712 from a cruise ship, with 55 deaths, public broadcaster NHK said Sunday. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has asked the tens of millions of people in the city and surrounding regions to avoid non-essential, non-urgent outings until April 12, particularly this weekend. 

A security guard checks the temperature of a customer arriving at a supermarket during the partial lockdown in Malaysia on Friday, March 27 in Penang. (Goh Chai Hin/AFP via Getty Images)

Malaysia reported 150 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, taking the total to 2,470, the highest in Southeast Asia. The number of deaths from the virus outbreak rose by seven to 34, the health ministry said.

Iran has confirmed another 144 deaths from the coronavirus and says thousands more are in critical condition as the military completed work on a 2,000-bed field hospital in an exhibition centre in the capital. Iran has reported nearly 2,400 deaths among more than 32,000 cases.

Iranian officials have repeatedly insisted they have the outbreak under control, despite concerns it could overwhelm the country’s health facilities. Authorities have urged people to stay home but have not imposed the sweeping lockdowns seen elsewhere in the region.

In the continent of Africa, coronavirus has now spread to dozens of the 47 countries of the WHO Africa region, with 2,650 infected and 49 dead, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday. 

Saudi Arabia recorded 99 new cases on Saturday, taking its total to more than 1,200 coronavirus infections — the most in the Gulf Arab region, with four fatalities. On Sunday local time, the Kingdom said it was extending indefinitely the suspension of international passenger flights and workplace attendance in both public and private sectors among efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

South Africa has the most cases in Africa and as of midnight entered a three-week lockdown. In Johannesburg, police fired tear gas at a crowd of Kenyan ferry commuters as the country’s first day of a coronavirus curfew slid into chaos. Elsewhere, officers were captured in mobile phone footage whacking people with batons.

Workers arrange beds to prepare a quarantine centre at a sports complex in Gauhati, India, on Saturday. (Anupam Nath/Associated Press)

Indonesia authorities in Jakarta have extended a state of emergency for the next two weeks. The country has reported 102 deaths and 1,155 infections.

The United Arab Emirates extended on Saturday to April 5 a nightly curfew to sterilize public places to combat the coronavirus as neighbouring Qatar reported its first death from the disease.

Turkey halted all intercity trains and limited domestic flights on Saturday, as the number of coronavirus cases jumped by a third in a day to 5,698, with 92 dead.

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Just bought a used car? There’s a chance it’s stolen, as thieves exploit weakness in vehicle registrations

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The fight against Canada’s worst-ever auto theft epidemic has largely focused on ramping up inspections at shipping ports, where organized crime groups have exported the overwhelming majority of stolen vehicles.

But criminals are adapting, police say, by increasingly selling hot vehicles in Canada to unsuspecting buyers with little protection, exploiting a weakness in provincial registration systems that veteran investigators argue needs to be fixed.

“The market is so lucrative it’s easy cash,” said Det. Sgt. Greg O’Connor of Peel Regional Police, west of Toronto.

While it is impossible to know what criminals do with all stolen cars and difficult to track shifting trends, police now estimate nearly one-third of stolen vehicles are being resold in Canada, marking a significant increase from just six months ago when the vast majority of vehicles were believed to have been exported.

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And often, buyers have no idea.

Derek Crocker bought a used Ford F-150 pickup truck from a dealership in Toronto in 2022. Just a few months later, his own investigation revealed the truck’s vehicle identification number — or VIN — had been replaced, mirroring the VIN of a similar truck registered in Utah.

Two photos of VIN stickers highlight two identical VINs to show how the identification number can be faked.
VIN stickers from two different vehicles show the same vehicle identification numbers. The original and authentic sticker, top, is from a vehicle registered in Utah. The lower number, a fake, is from the used Ford F150 purchased by Crocker in Ontario. (CBC)

“The whole reason you buy it from a dealership is so you don’t have to worry about dealing with that sort of thing,” he said.

In retrospect, there were small tells.

After Crocker entered what should have been the truck’s unique VIN in Ford’s app, the function to remotely start the vehicle never worked. The app also listed the vehicle as being located in the United States and indicated a different amount of fuel than his own vehicle tank was holding.

But it wasn’t until his F-150 was in an accident and required body work that the problem with the VIN was revealed. The repair shop ordered parts based on the VIN it saw on the dash. But the parts did not match.

“So I Googled the VIN number that was on my truck, and I found a truck for sale in Utah,” said Crocker.

A Ford F-150 in an outdoor parking lot.
This Ford F-150 truck cost Crocker almost $60,000 at a dealership. His own investigation revealed it had been reported stolen and had a new VIN sticker mirroring one from a similar truck already registered in Utah. Because the truck had been reported stolen, his insurance policy was immediately voided, as police seized the vehicle. (Submitted by Derek Crocker)

It turns out that was the true VIN, which thieves had cloned, placing fake VIN stickers with the Utah truck’s VIN on top of the true number for the truck Crocker bought.

VINs are most prominently displayed on a vehicle’s dashboard, as well as on the ownership title. When a vehicle is stolen, the VIN is flagged across North America to prevent it being sold.

But criminals are replacing the VIN plate, often with one from a comparable vehicle that has been totalled, legally exported or one registered in another province or U.S. state. They may go through junkyards, export records or simply walk through a mall parking lot to find a VIN to clone.

In doing so, they re-VIN or “wash” the vehicle of its stolen status.

A police officer stands in front of a recovered stolen car.
Det. Sgt. Greg O’Connor of Peel Regional Police stands with stolen luxury vehicles recovered by the auto theft squad he leads. The vehicles included a Porsche, Maserati, Land Rover and other cars that had each been ‘re-VINed.’ (Mia Sheldon/CBC)

Crocker called police, who seized the vehicle and returned it to the insurance company of the original owner.

Crocker’s own insurance would not cover his loss because he’d — albeit unknowingly — purchased a stolen vehicle. After a long discussion with the dealership that sold him the stolen truck, his money was returned.

“They did nothing extra,” Crocker said. “They didn’t help me at all.”

How could 2 cars with the same VIN be registered?

Provincial centres that administer vehicle registration, such as ServiceOntario, do not have a system that checks if VINs already exist in other jurisdictions.

“You can have a vehicle registered in one province and the same VIN on a different vehicle registered in another and we need to stop that,” David Adams, president and CEO of Global Automakers of Canada, told a recent auto theft summit in the Greater Toronto Area.

Neither Canada nor the United States has a national vehicle registry. Multiple police agencies are urging federal and provincial governments to create one.

“The reality is this is a national issue. And that’s why a national registry that moves itself beyond any sort of provincial jurisdiction is important in all capacities,” Nick Milinovich, deputy chief of Peel Regional Police, said in an interview.

CBC News asked Ontario’s Ministry of the Solicitor General why the province’s database can’t detect whether the same VIN is actively being used in another province or state.

“If changes to the provincial registration process are required, we won’t hesitate to make them,” it responded in a statement.

How to spot a potentially stolen car for sale

While it is impossible to know precisely how many fraudulently registered stolen vehicles are back on the road, recoveries have surged.

“The number of re-VINS is just blowing through the roof right now,” said O’Connor. “It’s costing drivers, banks, insurance companies big money. It’s a massive problem.”

It is impossible to know the full extent of the illegal economy and the proportion of vehicle exported versus those kept in the country. But police forces across southern Ontario have reported a surge in recoveries of vehicles that have had their VINs altered.

Car buyers are being advised to look at the VIN on the dashboard and the pillar between the front and back driver’s side doors to see if the numbering is bubbling, a sign there may be a sticker on top of the real VIN.

A fake vehicle identification number on a blue Porsche.
A fake VIN sticker on a police-recovered stolen Porsche Cayenne. Investigators point to bubbling and a slight discolouration as suspicious. The sticker, on the driver’s side pillar between the front and back seats, is one of two locations where a VIN is most prominently displayed. The other, on the front dash, is visible from outside the vehicle. Both had been altered by criminals. (Mia Sheldon/CBC)

Running the VIN through a paid service like Carfax could also yield key warning signs. For example: a vehicle that records show has been declared salvage after a crash later reappearing undamaged. Or a VIN with a sales and registration history almost exclusively in one province or state suddenly being for sale in another.

If an insurance company discovers a vehicle has a fraudulent VIN, the policy is voided. When police seized Crocker’s truck, insurance would not pay to replace it. He was only able to recover his money when the dealership that sold the stolen truck paid him out.

But police and insurance investigators have begun to warn of a proliferation of re-VINed vehicles being sold exclusively through social media platforms like Instagram.

“If you’re paying cash for that vehicle [in a private sale] or you do a bank transfer,” said O’Connor, “there’s no recourse.”

WATCH | A stolen car is found in Ghana: 

CBC finds Toronto man’s stolen car in West Africa

8 months ago

Duration 2:00

CBC’s David Common informs Len Green that his stolen car has been found in Ghana, 8,500 kilometres from Toronto, where it first went missing a year ago.

Registry employees alleged to be in on the crime

Police also allege organized crime has recruited employees at ServiceOntario, the registration centres operated on behalf of the province that offer an array of services, including issuing licences and managing the database of registered vehicles.

At the end of 2023, Toronto police charged seven ServiceOntario employees with a collective 73 charges, including fraud over $5,000, tampering with a vehicle identification number, breach of trust by a public officer and trafficking in identity information.

They allegedly provided an auto theft ring with registered addresses for specific vehicle models. Once stolen, the same employees assisted the ring in “re-VINing” the vehicles.

Fraudulent VINs may never be detected, although Peel police alone have seized more than 50 such vehicles in 2024 alone.

At other times, employees at ServiceOntario have flagged suspicious activity, such as when the same person shows up dozens of times to register different vehicles. That was allegedly the case with Milton Hylton, who was charged with 168 counts of various Criminal Code offences in March.

He was released on bail, pending trial. No charges are yet proven.

WATCH | An alleged repeat re-VINer is arrested:

Police arrest man for alleged serial re-VINing

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CBC News takes you inside a police surveillance operation, witnessing an auto theft takedown connected to a growing aspect of the billion-dollar crime. Criminal rings are increasingly selling stolen cars in Canada to car buyers who often have no idea.

According to the warrant used to search his home and requested by Peel Regional Police Const. Gurinder Athwal, the 24-year-old travelled to “multiple ServiceOntario locations throughout the province and fraudulently registered vehicles.” Police say more than 100 vehicles were involved, and describe stolen Dodge Rams, Dodge Durangos and BMWs among them.

CBC News was present at the moment of Hylton’s arrest in Mississauga as multiple undercover police vehicles conducting surveillance moved in.

As investigators searched and then towed his silver Mazda, they say they found documents to register even more vehicles inside.

Hylton had just a few weeks earlier been banned from entering ServiceOntario locations without an appointment, because of suspicions. He was in the company of a woman he identified as his girlfriend. His sister was also arrested days later and now faces 36 charges of uttering forged documents and trafficking of stolen goods.

3rd-party registration being exploited

In a news release, Peel police describe Hylton as using “loopholes in the ServiceOntario procedures that allow ‘authorized’ individuals to conduct third-party transactions.”

While third-party registration is intended for car dealers, provisions for it mean nearly any individual can transfer registration of a vehicle or register a vehicle in another person’s name.

This process is typical in other Canadian provinces, too.

“It’s a huge problem,” said O’Connor. “And that’s how a lot of these vehicles are getting through.”

For instance, the warrant in the Hylton case alleges he transferred vehicle ownerships to both a speciality tool shop in Etobicoke and an automotive exporter in St. Catharines. Neither business authorized the transfers, and both insist Hylton is neither an employee nor known to them.

Were the vehicles in question stolen, the new registration would have detached them from their previous owners. Anyone buying the vehicles would be none the wiser and would have no insurance or other protection if the vehicle’s stolen status was ever uncovered.

A screenshot of an Instagram page showing customers giving testimonials about their newly purchased vehicles.
Peel police allege this Instagram page shows customers of Hylton’s apparent brokerage ‘Royalty in the Building.’ Testimonial videos describe how Hylton set up car purchasers with vehicles. Police say at least some of the vehicles in the videos were likely stolen and given replacement vehicle identification numbers to make them appear legitimate. (Royalty in the Building/Instagram)

Peel police say Hylton sold dozens of vehicles over a year through social media under the Instagram handle “Royalty in the Building.”

That name is associated with Facebook and Instagram accounts where apparent car buyers offer testimonials.

“I called up Milton. I told him I got my money up, I need plates, I need a car. And he got it just like that,” a person said in a testimonial while standing in front of a Honda Civic.

“Got my new SUV, fully loaded. Tints, light, rims, inside’s clean. Everything’s legit,” another person said in a testimonial.

“You give him your cash. You’re on the road. You ain’t got to go to ServiceOntario. You don’t got to do no running around,” said another.

WATCH | Inside a weeks-long auto theft investigation:

How stolen cars end up back on Canadian streets

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CBC’s David Common gets exclusive access inside an auto theft surveillance operation, targeting a suspect who allegedly re-vinned more than 100 stolen vehicles to be resold, sometimes to unsuspecting buyers in Canada.

CBC News spoke with several police and insurance officials from across the Greater Toronto Area about third-party registrations.

Each insisted the loophole needed to be closed to prevent illegal transfers. But none wanted to speak on the record, citing the provincial Ministry of Transportation as a good partner they did not want to publicly besmirch.

Meanwhile, the auto theft problem continues to grow.

In 2022, an unprecedented $1.2 billion worth of vehicles were stolen across the entire country. By 2023, more than $1 billion was lost in just Ontario alone, according to the Équité Association, the national organization charged with reducing insurance fraud.

“It’s one of the top three revenue generators for organized crime,” said Milinovich. “It’s high reward, low risk, and an easy crime.”

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Federal budget 2024 disliked by half of Canada: poll

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OTTAWA –

A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.

Just shy of half the respondents to Leger’s latest survey said they had a negative opinion of the federal budget, which was presented last Tuesday.

Only 21 per cent said they had a positive opinion, and one-third of respondents said they didn’t know or preferred not to answer.

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Still, 65 per cent of those surveyed said the plan to spend $8.5 billion on housing, aimed at building 3.9 million homes by 2031, is good for the country.

Leger’s poll of 1,522 Canadians last weekend can’t be assigned a margin of error because online surveys are not considered truly random samples.

People in Alberta were most likely to say they had a very negative impression of the budget, with 42 per cent selecting that option compared to 25 per cent across the entire country.

More than half of the people who took the poll said they are in favour of the government’s plans to spend more on energy efficiency, national defence and student-loan forgiveness for health care and education workers.

And 56 per cent said they think the increase to the capital gains tax inclusion rate — a move that’s estimated to raise another $19.4 billion in revenue over the next four years — is a good thing.

The Liberals are billing the change as critical to their plan to improve generational fairness by taxing the ultra-rich.

It has drawn criticism, including from the Canadian Medical Association, which warned on Tuesday that it could affect the country’s ability to recruit and keep physicians.

The budget proposes to make two-thirds of capital gains — the profit made on the sale of assets — taxable, rather than half. For individuals, this would apply to profits above $250,000, but there is no lower threshold for corporations.

The medical association said many doctors will face higher taxes because they have incorporated their practices and used those companies to save for retirement.

While the Liberals are aiming changes to the capital gains tax at younger Canadians including millennials and gen-Zers, Leger’s poll found it had the support of 60 per cent of respondents over the age of 55 — the highest among any age group.

People between 18 and 35 were least likely to support the Liberal plan to spend another $73 billion on defence in the next two decades. Just 45 per cent of respondents in that age group said ramping up defence spending is good for the country, compared with 70 per cent of people over the age of 55.

Leger also asked questions about the country’s fiscal future.

Almost half the respondents, 47 per cent, said they want to see the government cut back on spending and programs to get the budget balanced as quickly as possible.

Just 16 per cent said spending more and running large deficits is the best plan for the next five years, and 14 per cent want to see the government increase taxes to bring the deficit down.

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Provincial audit turns up more than 40 medical clinics advertising membership fees

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Alberta’s health ministry says an audit has determined that more than 40 medical clinics in the province are advertising membership fees for services, nearly a year after one such plan landed a Calgary clinic in hot water.

The audit was launched last December. In July, CBC News reported that a medical clinic in Calgary’s Marda Loop district was moving to a membership system and planned to charge $4,800 a year for a two-parent family membership, covering two adults and their dependent children.

The next day, Health Canada said the arrangement at the Marda Loop Medical Clinic equated to patients purchasing “preferential access” and warned Alberta that it could face cuts to federal health transfers if the situation wasn’t handled.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange directed Alberta Health to investigate, and the clinic halted its plan for membership fees shortly after.

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In December, LaGrange told CBC News that “appropriate action” would be taken if audits determined that violations were found, adding the province would do whatever it took to ensure clinics were in compliance.

A woman speaks at a podium.
Speaking at a news conference in July 2023, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the Marda Loop Medical Clinic would be fined, lose medicare funding or be shut down altogether if it proceeded with a plan to charge membership fees. (CBC)

The province promised the audits early in the new year. Now, the health ministry says it has conducted interviews to gather information on operations and business models of the clinics, adding this work is ongoing.

“Over 40 clinics in the province [advertise] a membership meant to pay for a defined set of uninsured services, while also providing insured services covered under the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan at no cost to Albertans,” wrote spokesperson Andrea Smith in a statement.

“Once this review is completed, its findings will be used to inform next steps. Alberta’s government will also determine if additional audits of more membership clinics is required.”

In July, Health Canada said executive and primary health clinics charging patients enrolment and annual membership fees exist in a number of provinces. Generally, investigations have indicated that clinics provide members with an variety of uninsured services, such as life coaching and nutritional services.

“However, in some cases … these fees are also a prerequisite to accessing insured services at the clinic (i.e., medically necessary physician services). Mandatory fees to access or receive preferential access to insured services are contrary to the Canada Health Act,” the government department wrote in a statement.

A spokesperson for LaGrange told CBC News in July the ministry wasn’t aware of any other clinics offering services for membership fees that didn’t align with legislation.

What comes next for those 40 clinics is a murky grey area, said Fiona Clement, a professor at the University of Calgary in the department of community health sciences. Much of it has to do with the exact language being used when services are outlined as parts of packages.

“We’re on the razor’s edge of exact wording there that runs them afoul. Really, I think it will come down to what the government is willing to fight with these clinics about,” she said.

CBC News asked the provincial government for a list of the clinics identified, but did not receive it by publication time. A spokesperson with the province said if any clinics are found to be non-compliant with legislation, appropriate action would be taken.

Report had identified 14 clinics

Clement said the big issue that got the Marda Loop Medical Clinic in hot water was the concept of guaranteed access.

“That’s the problem that Marda Loop got into, because there you are charging access to medical care, which is the part that contravenes the Canada Health Act,” Clement said.

At the time the Marda Loop clinic fell under scrutiny, it was clear there were other such clinics providing membership programs, in Calgary and Canada.

In 2022, researchers from Dalhousie University and Simon Fraser University released a paper tracking the number of clinics taking private payment across the country. Between November 2019 and June 2020, the period of the analysis, there were 14 private clinics in Alberta with a range of membership fees and private payment.

A woman smiles at the camera.
Fiona Clement, a professor at the University of Calgary in the department of community health sciences, says she hopes to see an ongoing review tied to Alberta clinics charging membership fees made publicly available. (Riley Brandt/University of Calgary)

“So, 40 is a larger number than I was expecting. And I think it speaks to growth in this area, the number of clinics that are charging fees for different parts of care,” Clement said.

“I think it underscores the lack of stability, and the need to really think about how we’re funding primary care, because more and more clinics are turning to this private charge as a revenue source to keep the doors open.”

Provinces that allow private health-care providers to charge patients for medically necessary services have dollars clawed back by the federal government under the Canada Health Act.

According to Health Canada, Alberta was subject to a $20,450,175 deduction to its Canada Health Transfer payment in March 2024 under the diagnostic services policy. That’s up from $13,781,152 last year.

But the province received $20,538,796 in partial reimbursements tied to its March 2023 and 2024 deductions, which represents actions that Alberta Health has taken to limit patient pay for publicly funded goods or services, according to Clement.

“I guess we’re making some progress. But it’s still a big number, which says there’s still a lot of patient billing going on,” she said.

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