Program launched to help curb cargo theft in Atlantic Canada

WATCH ABOVE: Atlantic Canada is joining the rest of Canada in a nation-wide attempt to stop cargo theft. Global’s Laura Brown reports.

FREDERICTON – A national cargo theft reporting program that started as a pilot program in Quebec and Ontario is being expanded to Atlantic Canada.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada, the RCMP, and the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association are joining forces to run the program in the region.

The Canadian Trucking Association says the theft of cargo is a $5 billion problem each year in Canada.

Amanda Dean, Atlantic vice-president with IBC, says cargo theft has historically often gone unreported, but encouraging reporting by trucking companies and information from the public can have a major impact.

The program would see details of stolen cargo quickly distributed to various police agencies, border guards, and other trucking companies in an effort to detect movement of stolen goods.

Recently a truck stolen from Moncton was found the next day in Quebec, emptied of its $50,000 cargo.