"Stealing is legal in Canada?" Cyclist slams police response to e-bike taken from transit locker

A Metro Vancouver cyclist is speaking out after his e-bike was stolen out of a TransLink bike parkade in Port Coquitlam, saying Metro Vancouver Transit Police have been slow to locate security footage from the incident.

Camber Isaac sold his car to purchase an e-bike and has been cycling to the SkyTrain station to commute to work. It’s been a welcome change — until his bike was stolen on July 11.

He returned to the Lafarge Lake-Douglas Station parkade to find his e-bike missing and his lock sawed off.

Camber Isaac/Submitted

“I’m extremely careful about where I leave it, I would never leave it locked up on the streets of Vancouver or even in Coquitlam where I can’t see it from a cafe,” Isaac told Daily Hive. “I have been under the impression that the locked SkyTrain bike parkades are one of the only safe areas to leave a bike and take transit.”

What’s more, he said Transit Police haven’t been much help. He’s asked them about security footage from the July 11 incident, since he said his bike was locked right in front of a camera. But Transit Police haven’t yet tracked the footage down.

“It seems like stealing is legal in Canada?” Isaac said. “I’m deeply disappointed by the slow response of the police… which may lead to the bike never getting recovered.”

Const. Amanda Steed told Daily Hive a request for the CCTV footage is in progress and the file is still under investigation. In the meantime, she provided some tips for avoiding bike theft including registering a bike with Project 529, choosing a hefty lock, and parking the bike in a secure and high-traffic area.

The e-bike made living in Port Coquitlam accessible for Isaac because he could get around the region once he parked it at the SkyTrain station. But even if he buys a new bike or e-bike in the future, he said his days of taking the SkyTrain are over.

“This has impacted the way I commute and will now take my daily commute longer due to the insecurity of this city,” he said. “It’s greatly disappointing.”

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