Catalytic converter thefts continue at high rates despite 2020 Act from province
Posted April 26, 2022 7:37 pm.
You probably don’t put too much thought into what’s underneath your car unless you’re a mechanic or a thief.
“I didn’t notice anything was wrong until I turned it on and then you go ‘oh my god what is that noise,” says Hector Pothier whose catalytic converter was stolen in broad daylight.
The principal’s catalytic converter was stolen from his vehicle in the school parking lot in the middle of the day. “That couple of hours it was parked out in this parking lot, someone crawled under, he said probably with a saw and zipped it off in a minute or two and that was it,” he says.
The owner of ABC Muffler and Hitch, Trevor Gordy says they are getting close to 20 vehicles each day with a stolen catalytic converter.
“Thieves are getting so efficient at doing this. Malls, movie theatres, golf courses. Anywhere you are going for an extended period of time, thieves have been targeting these places,” says Trevor Gordy.
A catalytic converter is connected to your car’s exhaust system and has valuable metals that thieves can sell to scrap yards.
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Alberta passed the Protecting Alberta Industry from Theft Act in 2020. The legislation requires dealers to report transactions to law enforcement, and for all payments to be made using traceable forms of currency, such as electronic transfers or cheques.
Sellers also need to provide a government-issued photo ID. Despite the new legislation, thefts continue to happen.
According to the Edmonton Police Service, there were 3,097 catalytic converter thefts in the city. As of April 24, roughly 1,120 have been reported stolen.
“I believe the scrap yards are doing what is required of them. I believe most of our problem is coming from the middlemen on Kijiji, on Facebook, on Craigslist who are advertising they are buying these,” says Trevor Gordy.
Trevor Gordy says there is no legislation in Alberta that requires vehicles to have a catalytic converter, however, they do reduce emissions and improves your gas economy.
“However if this vehicle needs to be re-licensed, re-registered, or is going to a different province to be inspected, in general, it will fail an inspection and will need to be done at that point,” he says.
