Copper theft has been growing. The telecom industry wants tougher penalties

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Dov Dimant, owner of Vancouver's Capital Salvage, is pictured with a bin of scrap copper.

The Canadian telecommunications industry wants stiffer penalties for copper wire thieves, who they say are repeatedly causing outages that can leave thousands of customers without service when they cut the wire off telephone poles to sell for scrap metal.that can leave thousands of customers without service when they cut the wire off telephone poles to sell for scrap metal.

Copper wire is typically used in traditional telephone and DSL internet lines, but thieves have been known to remove everything off a utility pole, including fibre-optic cables."It's a bit of a life safety issue as well," said Brian Lakey, vice-president of the Telus Reliability Centre of Excellence and co-chair of the Canadian Telecom Network Resiliency Working Group.

Copper is used in low-carbon technologies like electric cars and generators. It's become increasingly sought-after as countries seek to lower carbon emissions, though supply hasn't been enough to meet demand. A proposed anti-foreign meddling bill would carry a new sabotage offence that would target copper wire thieves, though only if they're stealing with the intention of endangering the safety and security of Canada or its allies.

"Generally, thieves aren't going to have current ID, so by insisting that everyone has ID, that eliminates a lot of people that can't get their act in order," said Dimant.

 

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