Calls mount for better enforcement at scrap yards to stem thefts of catalytic converters

Last week, a Moncton preschool had to take one of its buses off the road.

The bus, which is used to transport children to and from Moncton Headstart on Mountain Road, was parked outside on Wednesday night when someone crawled under it and cut out the catalytic converter, said Caroline Donnell, executive director of the not-for-profit.

Local businesses have stepped up to help replace the stolen part, which would have cost the organization $2,000.

But the incident has left Donnell wondering where the stolen component might have ended up.

"Who's buying these stolen parts? Where do these guys go with these catalytic converters?"

The Headstart incident is one of the latest in a rash of catalytic converter thefts across the province.

Industry insiders say the thefts are being fuelled by inadequate regulations and lax enforcement.

"There needs to be put in some kind of a restriction on how you can sell them or how people can buy them," said Heather Langille of Capital City Auto Parts, an automobile scrap yard in Fredericton.

A catalytic converter is part of a vehicle's exhaust system, and filters out pollutants before emissions leave through the exhaust pipe.

What makes catalytic converters high-value targets for thieves is the precious metals they contain, which include platinum, rhodium and palladium.

Langille said her company won't touch a catalytic converter unless it comes into the yard still attached to a vehicle with valid registration.

From there, her company gathers all the catalytic converters it has accumulated over a period of time, and sells them in bulk to a trusted recycler.

However, she said, there are other scrap yards in and around the city that don't follow the same business practice.

"And there's no question of where they came from," said Langille, naming two companies she claims buy the parts  without making sure they aren't stolen.

"You could take it in there and sell it without even giving ID or anything like that."

Even if scrap yards are playing by the rules, she said, regulations still need to be tightened to require sellers to provide more information about who they are and where they got the catalytic converter they're trying to sell.

"It needs to have the person's name, phone number, a copy of their ID and the vehicle that it came off of," Langille said.

"If they're saying it's an old vehicle of theirs, they need to show the registration or something. If they have these regulations in place, then [thieves] are not going to be able to sell them."

New Brunswick's Salvage Dealers Licensing Act doesn't include specific regulations around the sale and purchase of specific automotive parts. For all scrap items, it says a salvage dealer must keep records that include:

• The date and hour of purchase or receipt of an item.
• A description of the article, including a descriptive mark or name on the article. 
• The price paid.
• The precise time of receipt or purchase. 
• The name and the residence of the person from whom the article was purchased or by whom it was delivered to the salvage dealer.
• The registration number and description of a motor vehicle used in delivering the article to the salvage dealer.
• Any other information prescribed by regulation.

Steve Fletcher, managing director of the Automotive Recyclers of Canada, said those regulations would be adequate if they were complied with and enforced.

However, some scrap yards are buying used catalytic converters without doing the proper due diligence to ensure they aren't stolen.

"Because it's such a loosely regulated business, it tends to fall to the lowest common denominator of, you know, 'Well, if you're going to ask me all these questions about where I got these, or you're only going to pay me in a cheque, I'm just going to go down the road to the guy who asks no questions and pays me cash and I'm completely off of the radar'," Fletcher said.

Fletcher also said there tends to be little oversight of scrap yards in New Brunswick from what he's heard.

"As far as I've heard, none of my members have ever been visited by somebody to say, you know, show me your registry documents, you know, what you got in and where it went.

"And when you're not even kind of a licensed dealer or a licensed wrecker, you're just buying [catalytic converters] and buying scrap cars because nobody really seems to care."

The Department of Justice and Public Safety is in charge of enforcing the Salvage Dealers Licensing Act.

CBC News asked whether the department planned to make any changes to the act to stem the theft of catalytic converters. 

Geoffrey Downey, a spokesperson for the department, answered with an email that said the department regularly reviews best practices and identifies opportunities for improvements in its legislation and regulations.

"Improving public safety is always a priority," he said.

According to the Salvage Dealers Licensing Act, the minister may appoint a chief inspector of salvage dealers with the  power to seize any salvage material believed to be evidence that an offence has occurred.

Downey did not respond to a question by CBC News about whether the chief Inspector has done anything to combat the theft of catalytic converters in New Brunswick.