A recent wave of copper thefts has knocked out phone and internet service for thousands of Calgary residents, exposing vulnerabilities in Canada’s telecom infrastructure.
Since mid-July, Telus says eight separate thefts have occurred across the city, impacting over 3,500 homes and businesses. The hardest hit areas include southwest Calgary, where entire blocks have gone dark for days.
“It’s a huge issue, one that puts public safety at risk,” said Anne Martin, VP of Network & Engineering Operations at Telus, said to Global News.
For small businesses like the Lakeview Husky gas station, the outage came without warning. Manager Michael Swab said their phone lines went silent earlier in the week — and stayed that way.
“In those three, three-and-a-half days we’ve probably lost thousands of dollars in business,” Swab said, noting that only by mid-week did calls start rerouting to his cellphone.
Theft of copper wiring isn’t just an inconvenience. When thieves cut through these cables to grab the valuable metal inside, it takes skilled crews hours—sometimes days—to repair the damage. Telus has brought in teams from other provinces to help restore service, but each wire contains thousands of strands that must be spliced back together manually.
Martin said the rise in incidents is part of a wider national problem, with Alberta seeing some of the sharpest increases. “(Telus) has experienced an 80-per cent increase in cable thefts this year compared to the same period of last year,” she said.
Calgary police are urging residents to take precautions, such as installing motion-sensing lights or security cameras in alleyways and around utility boxes. They also recommend painting exposed copper black to make it less attractive to thieves. Yeah, that ain’t gonna work.
The province does have rules for scrap metal sales, requiring ID and vehicle info from anyone selling restricted metals like copper. But Telus says more serious penalties are needed. “In Canada, the punishment doesn’t fit the crime,” Martin said. “Most of the time, thieves get charged with Theft Under $5,000, which is essentially the same as stealing a bicycle.”
Bell has been dealing with its own problems with copper theft. Earlier this month, it said copper theft was cutting off 911 and internet access. It continues to push for changes to the Criminal Code to punish copper theft accordingly.
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