MONTREAL (AP) — Canadian authorities said Wednesday they prevented nearly 600 stolen vehicles from being exported overseas after searching 390 shipping containers at the Port of Montreal.
Around three-quarters of the 598 seized vehicles, with an estimated value of $34.5 million Canadian (US$25.5 million), were stolen in the neighboring province of Ontario, the Ontario Provincial Police and Canada Border Services Agency said.
A surge in auto thefts in Canada’s largest city of Toronto has left many residents frustrated.
Ontario Provincial Police deputy commissioner Marty Kearns told reporters in Montreal that investigations by police in Ontario led them to believe that a large percentage of stolen vehicles in that province “were destined for illegal export via the Port of Montreal.” As a result, he said, police and federal agencies in Quebec and Ontario launched Project Vector.
“As our intelligence indicated, the vast majority of recovered stolen vehicles, more than 430, were taken from the Greater Toronto Area,” Kearns said.
Thieves target relatively new vehicles, including high-end pickup trucks and SUVs, which are then exported to markets in Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South America, he said.
No arrests have yet been made as part of the three-and-a-half month operation.
Kearns said the operation has taken millions of dollars away from organized crime, and sent a message “that we are here, we are active.”
“We’re not done … we anticipate arrests and charges in the near future.”
Kearns said Project Vector is the latest in a series of police operations targeting vehicle thefts.
Some of the recovered vehicles have been involved in other crimes, Kearns said.
“For example, one of the recovered vehicles was linked to a carjacking involving a handgun, another vehicle was stolen from a driveway and then used for a residential break-in just hours later. In another instance, thieves invaded a home during the early morning, confronted the homeowners and made off with two vehicles,” he said.
Deputy Commissioner Marty Kearns, Investigations and Organized Crime at the Ontario Provincial Police, left, talks with Deputy Chief Benoit Dube of the Surete du Quebec, beside two recovered stolen vehicles during a news conference in Montreal, Wednesday, April 3, 2024. Ontario Provincial Police and the Canada Border Services Agency say they've seized hundreds of stolen cars that were destined for export at the Port of Montreal. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom on 19 people, including civil rights icons such as the late Medgar Evers, prominent political leaders such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. James Clyburn, and actor Michelle Yeoh.
Biden said the recipients of the nation's highest civilian honor are “incredible people whose relentless curiosity, inventiveness, ingenuity and hope have kept faith in a better tomorrow.”
One of them, Clarence B. Jones, said in an interview that he thought a prankster was on the phone when he answered and heard the caller say they were from the White House.
“I said, ‘Is this a joke or is this serious?’" Jones recalled. The caller swore they were serious and was calling with the news that Biden wanted to recognize Jones with the medal.
Jones, 93, was honored for his activism during the Civil Rights Movement. He's a lawyer who provided legal counsel to Martin Luther King Jr. and helped write the opening paragraphs of the “I Have a Dream” speech that King delivered at the Lincoln Memorial at the 1963 March on Washington.
The White House said the recipients are “exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.”
The 10 men and nine women hail from the worlds of politics, sports, entertainment, civil rights and LGBTQ+ advocacy, science and religion. Three medals were awarded posthumously.
Seven politicians were among the recipients: former New York mayor and philanthropist Michael Bloomberg, former Sen. Elizabeth Dole, climate activist and former Vice President Al Gore, Biden's former climate envoy John Kerry, former Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., who died in 2013, Clyburn, the Democratic congressman from South Carolina, and Pelosi, the Democratic congresswoman from California.
Biden in his remarks acknowledged that Clyburn's endorsement in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary helped him score a thundering win in South Carolina, powering him to his party's nomination and ultimately the White House. Bloomberg mounted a short-lived bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
“I can say this without fear of contradiction,” Biden said. “I would not be standing here as president making these awards were it not for Jim. I mean that sincerely.”
In addition to representing North Carolina in the Senate, Dole, a Republican and the widow of former Sen. Bob Dole, also served as transportation secretary and labor secretary and was president of the American Red Cross. She currently leads a foundation supporting military caregivers.
Pelosi is the first and only woman ever elected to the speaker's post, putting her second in the line of succession to the presidency. Biden referenced her legislative achievements, noted her actions during the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, and said "history will remember you, Nancy, as the greatest speaker of the House of Representatives.”
Evers received posthumous recognition for his work more than six decades ago fighting segregation in Mississippi in the 1960s as the NAACP's first field officer in the state. He was 37 when he was fatally shot in the driveway of his home in June 1963. His daughter, Reena, who was 8 years old when her father was killed, accepted his medal.
Yeoh made history last year by becoming the first Asian woman to win an Academy Award for best actress for her performance in “ Everything, Everywhere All at Once.”
Jim Thorpe, who died in 1953, was the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States.
Judy Shepard co-founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation, named after her son, a gay 21-year-old University of Wyoming student who died in 1998 after he was beaten and tied to a fence.
Jones said he felt “very touched” after he digested what the caller had said.
“I'm 93 years old with some health challenges, but I woke up this morning thanks to the grace of God,” he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Thursday. “I'm looking forward to whatever the White House would like for me to do.”
The other medal recipients are:
— Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit Catholic priest who founded and runs Homeboy Industries, a gang-intervention and rehabilitation program.
— Phil Donahue, a journalist and former daytime TV talk-show host.
— Katie Ledecky, the most decorated female swimmer in history.
— Opal Lee, an activist who is best known for pushing to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. Biden did so in 2021.
— Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman in space and the second female director of NASA's Johnson Space Center.
— Jane Rigby, an astronomer who is chief scientist of the world's most powerful telescope. She grew up in Delaware, Biden's home state.
— Teresa Romero, president of the United Farm Workers and the first Hispanic woman to lead a national union in the U.S. The union has endorsed Biden's reelection bid and backed him in 2020.
In 2022, Biden presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 17 people, including gymnast Simone Biles, the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and gun-control advocate Gabby Giffords.
Biden knows how it feels to receive the medal. As president, Barack Obama presented Biden, his vice president, with the medal a week before their administration ended in 2017.
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The story has been corrected to reflect in the headline that a total of 19 people, not 18, were honored.
President Joe Biden awards the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to former Secretary of State John Kerry during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Joe Biden awards the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to former Sen. Elizabeth Dole during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Lynn Hannon, granddaughter of Jim Thorpe listens as President Joe Biden speaks before he awards the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Joe Biden awards the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to Gregory J. Boyle during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Joe Biden awards the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to former New York City Michael Bloomberg during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Joe Biden awards the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Former Sen. Elizabeth Dole talks with Michelle Yeoh as President Joe Biden speaks before he awards the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to them during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Joe Biden awards the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to former Vice President Al Gore during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Joe Biden awards the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Joe Biden awards the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to Katie Ledecky during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Joe Biden awards the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to Michelle Yeoh during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
FILE - Former Vice President Al Gore speaks about climate change at the Annual Meeting of World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
FILE - Former Sen. Elizabeth Dole listens to a speaker during a memorial service for former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., Dec. 11, 2021, in Russell, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
FILE - Phil Donahue attends the 2019 American Icon Awards at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on May 19, 2019, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, speaks during an interview in his office at the State Department, Feb. 6, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
FILE - Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York, speaks at the opening of the U.S. Pavilion at the COP27 U.N. Climate Summit, Nov. 8, 2022, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty, File)
FILE - Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., speaks at a ceremony to award a Congressional Gold Medal to baseball player Larry Doby at the Capitol, Dec. 13, 2023, in Washington.(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
FILE - Teresa Romero, president of United Farm Workers, speaks at a news conference at Balletto Vineyards in Santa Rosa, Calif., April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
FILE - Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi walks to a news conference to address sea level rise along the city's waterfront in San Francisco, Jan. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
FILE - Michelle Yeoh arrives at the 10th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony on April 13, 2024, at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - Clarence B. Jones poses for a photo before was presented with the American Jewish Congress' "Isaiah Award," March 1, 2006, in New York. (AP Photo/Diane Bondareff, File)
