Bell said today that “copper thefts continue to frequently occur across Canada,” hitting everything from major Ontario towns to rural Atlantic communities.
The problem is hitting home in places like Milton, where “thieves stole copper worth over $5K” in a single incident last week. In Burlington, the Halton Regional Police finally made an arrest on March 20 after investigating a string of local thefts. A recent theft in New Brunswick “caused an internet outage affecting nearly 200 customers” before crews could rush out to fix the cut lines.
Bell investigators are now teaming up with the Ontario Provincial Police to put pressure on the people buying the stolen goods. They recently spent time in Wellington County to “engage with metal recyclers in Wellington County to deter theft and disrupt the resale of stolen copper.” The scrap value of copper has seen record highs, which is why thieves are targeting this infrastructure.
The company says that “community awareness and collaboration remain critical” to stopping the thieves and keeping the internet running.
Bell has been the most vocal compared to its rivals Rogers and Telus when it comes to copper theft. Last fall, Bell took a copper thief to court and a man in Quebec was ordered to pay $24,000 in damages. Around the same time, the federal government introduced a new bill aimed at increasing penalties for telecom infrastructure and retail theft. But it’s clear penalties aren’t tough enough to deter copper theft still.
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