As terrorists increasingly resort to cars, vans and trucks to target civilians, should Canadians be subjected to extra checks before renting vehicles to make it harder for extremists to get behind the wheel?
READ MORE: Edmonton terror attacks: Abdulahi Sharif charged with attempted murder
That is a question that faces governments and vehicle rental companies across the Western world and one that has become more urgent for Canada after 30-year-old Abdulahi Hasan Sharif used a U-Haul truck to mow down civilians in Edmonton on Saturday night shortly after striking a police officer with a different vehicle. The events are currently being investigated as a terror attack.
READ MORE: Edmonton cop protected his gun from terror suspect while fending off knife attack
Provincial and federal law enforcement had already touched base with Canadian rental vehicle companies this summer, according to the Associated Canadian Car Rental Operators (ACCRO).
In August, a man used a rental van to ram passersby, killing 16 and leaving about 120 wounded.
The attack prompted the British government to hold talks with the car rental industry about introducing tougher checks for drivers, including running IDs against counter-terrorism watch list, British newspaper The Telegraph reported at the time.
In Canada, law enforcement has provided points of contact for the industry to report suspicious incidents, according to ACCRO.
But communication reviewed by Global News revealed no specific details about what exactly should be considered suspicious.
WATCH: Public Safety minister condemns ‘ISIS-inspired’ attack in Edmonton
Asked for comment about the events in Edmonton, U-Haul provided the following statement via email: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured and all those who are affected by this senseless act of terrorism in Edmonton.”
“We use a proprietary system to vet renters and this renter did not show as unrentable,” the company added without mentioning Sharif by name.
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“We are sensitive when developing any company policies that restrict the do-it-yourself moving public’s access to our equipment, but we recognize our responsibility as part of the infrastructure in Canada and the U.S. to be proactive and vigilant against criminal and terrorist activity,” U-Haul also said.
So far, however, it remains unclear what rental vehicle companies could do to help flag potential terror plots.
WATCH: How Saturday’s attacks in Edmonton unfolded
Sharif’s name would have likely popped up in government records, since he was the subject of an RCMP investigation, even if he was eventually deemed not to pose a threat, Gurski told Global News.
READ MORE: Edmonton Attack: How police decide who is a terrorist threat and who isn’t
But there are obvious privacy concerns around the idea of car rentals feeding drivers’ personal information to the government en masse, he noted.
And there are ethical issues, too, he added. Should the government really prevent Canadian citizens from renting vehicles? Where would the buck stop?
But such additional scrutiny would also be ineffective, in all likelihood, according to Gurski.
It would be very difficult for law enforcement agencies to sort through that massive amount of data, let alone do so in real-time, he noted.
And for all the work that would come from such a measure, there are relatively easy workarounds that would-be terrorists could resort to.
For example, as many Canadians will remember, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, who staged the brazen shooting on Parliament Hill three years ago, purchased a second-hand car for his attack.
READ MORE: Michael Zehaf-Bibeau followed British Islam preacher convicted of inviting support for IS
Terrorists deterred by security checks at rental vehicle companies could easily snatch a cheap ride on sites like Kijiji, said Gurski.
“Are you going to police Kijiji?”
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