Tougher penalties needed for copper thieves, Rogers tells Senate

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Canadian senators have received a petition from Rogers Communications urging tougher penalties for scrap copper thieves who are costing the telecom firm millions, according to a report.

“We have experienced an over 400% increase in vandalism-related outages since 2022 and twice as many total outage hours per year due to these incidents,” the media company told the Senate transport and communications committee, reports Blacklock’s Reporter.

“Unfortunately without a specific charge under the Criminal Code these crimes often result in minor charges.”

Currently, stealing copper — the metal typically sells for $5 a pound — is punished as petty theft under the Criminal Code.

However, a separate section targets saboteurs and threatens 10 years behind bars for any unlawful act “with the intent do endanger the safety, security or defence of Canada.”

Last June, Parliament broadened the scope of sabotage to include any act causing “a serious risk to the health or safety of the public” including disruption to “essential infrastructure.”

Rogers wants prosecutors to use the “essential infrastructure” clause to jail copper thieves.

“Increasing rates of copper theft and network tampering in recent years are impacting connectivity and threatening public safety nationwide,” the company wrote.

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“On average outages due to vandalism can take three to four times longer to repair with costs as high as $1 million per attack. Often these outages are caused by thieves stealing copper wire, piping and other network materials to sell on the black market.”

On Dec. 12, Bell Canada executives also asked for tougher penalties against copper thieves at Senate committee hearings.

“Copper theft is responsible for 88% of the physical security incidents that impact Bell’s network,” testified Michele Austin, vice-president at Bell Canada.

Austin said Bell installed alarms at locations targeted by thieves like the Lorne Bridge in Brantford, Ont., because of the frequency of theft.

“The bridge has been hit by copper thieves four times,” she said.