Last week, thieves cut and stole 235 metres of copper cable belonging to Bell Canada from local utility poles. Three broken poles were left dangling precariously beside Tremaine Road, held up only by the remaining wires, forcing police to close the thoroughfare while repairs were made. Other cut wires were strewn across the road.
The same night, approximately 160 metres of cable was cut and stolen from utility poles on Ninth Line, just south of 32 Sideroad in Halton Hills. A little further down the road, another 120 metres of cable was swiped.
And a week earlier, 60 metres of cable was stolen on Eighth Line.
It has become a daily occurrence across the country says David Joice, director of national network operations at Bell Canada. Bell has seen a significant increase in thefts of its copper cable since 2022.
“The cost of copper has gone up significantly and that’s created a black market for it,” said Joice.
Between February 2020 and March 2021, the price of copper more than doubled from $2.23 US per pound to $4.68 US, topping the $5 US mark at one point earlier this year.
Joice said because the copper and fibre optic cables are often bundled together, thieves will cut through both. That can leave residents without 9-1-1 service, impact other essential services and hurt companies that sell online or need Internet service to conduct business.
And as the incident on Tremaine Road showed, it can also create significant safety hazards where the thefts occur, especially considering most happen in rural areas where there are no street lights.
Joice said of all of Bell’s security incidents, 87 per cent are copper wire thefts. The company has installed alarms and cameras in an attempt to catch thieves, but it has done little to deter them.
“Nothing is going to change to curb this unless there’s an increase in fines around these actions,” Joice said, “particularly when it’s tied to public safety.”
The Canadian Telecommunications Association is also pushing for harsher penalties. The federal government introduced a bill that would criminalize sabotage of essential infrastructure. The association says similar steps have to be taken to address vandalism and theft.
“While Bill C-70 addresses acts of sabotage that are intended to endanger the safety, security or defence of Canada, it does not address the rapidly increasing frequency of vandalism and theft that are disrupting telecommunications services in communities across the country,” it said in a statement issued in May.
Joice said north Halton is an area that has experienced a high rate of thefts, as have Cambridge, Guelph, Rockwood, Milton, Windsor, Sarnia, Brockville and Kingston.
It can cost as much as $50,000 to make repairs each time a line is cut.
Although the majority of thefts occur in rural areas where there are fewer people around, “the urban areas are not exempt,” Joice said.
Joice said if you see someone working on a pole and it’s not a Bell branded truck, it’s likely someone cutting cables and anyone witnessing that should contact police.
