WINNIPEG (CBC) - Liberal members of Parliament, including deputy leader Michael Ignatieff, are visiting Winnipeg Thursday to discuss hot-button issues affecting Manitobans, including auto theft.

The Liberals will hold a series of roundtable discussions, hear from expert panels on the issues and meet with Manitoba Justice Minister Dave Chomiak and Winnipeg police Chief Keith McCaskill.

Winnipeg has long been considered Canada's car theft capital, with nearly double the rate of stolen vehicles in 2006 than second-place Edmonton.

According to Statistics Canada, there were 1,932 stolen cars for every 100,000 Winnipeggers that year.

Although police say the number of auto thefts in Winnipeg has been on the decline in recent months, the problem is widely perceived as becoming more violent.

Three people have been killed in auto theft-related accidents in the city during the past year, and auto thieves have used stolen vehicles as weapons in several high-profile incidents, intentionally driving them at joggers, pedestrians and police vehicles.

The problem has prompted the city's police chief and mayor and provincial politicians to call on Ottawa to make auto theft a separate violent offence in the Criminal Code rather than a run-of-the-mill property crime.

"I encourage everybody to call their member of Parliament and make sure they make the changes and make sure they're approved by the Senate, and let's get things done," Mayor Sam Katz said earlier this week, after the latest case in which auto thieves rammed police vehicles in an attempt to escape capture.

Conservative MP Steven Fletcher, who represents Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia, said the federal government has tried, noting a private member's bill introduced two years ago would have made auto theft a separate offence.

"When that bill made it to committee, the NDP and the Liberals took out the teeth of that legislation, which was very disappointing," he said.

The Tory minority government's hands are being tied by the opposition, Fletcher said.

'Hogwash,' says NDP MP

But Winnipeg Centre NDP MP Pat Martin scoffs at that position. He also introduced a motion to have auto theft made a violent crime, but received no support from the ruling Conservatives, he said.

"I think they're saving it for a doorstep issue in the next election campaign," he said. "I think the Conservatives are rationing out justice bills so that they have something to campaign on."

Martin said the Conservatives are in government and can write legislation now if they want.

"Steven Fletcher saying that some private member's bill is the solution to this is hogwash when they're the ones that have the ability to write legislation," he said.

"If they put it forward, they will have my vote, and I believe I will campaign for them to get the other parties voting for it, too."

The federal government did introduce proposed amendments to the Criminal Code last month to target auto theft, but the measures were specifically aimed at dealing with vehicles stolen and sold by criminal organizations.

Experts said they don't expect the new legislation to have much impact in Winnipeg, where justice officials say most vehicles are stolen by youth out for a joyride.

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