Federal officials say copper wire theft is on the rise in Canada, but it's difficult to combat because the infrastructure usually lacks basic security and its identifiers can be easily erased.
Witnesses from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, the RCMP, Public Safety Canada and the Department of Justice testified Tuesday about the issue at the Senate's transport and communications committee.
The group's study comes as some telecoms continue to sound the alarm over vandalism targeting their infrastructure. Canadian carriers have reported more than 1,300 incidents of these thefts since January 2022, said Wen Kwan, ISED's senior director of spectrum and the telecommunications sector, at the meeting.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Telecommunications Association says theft or vandalism of telecom sites have increased by more than 400 per cent since that year, with incidents of copper theft responsible for the majority of those.
Kwan said it takes an average of 10 to 12 hours for providers to fully restore internet access, television and phone services to their customers after copper wire theft incidents.
"These can disrupt emergency 911 services and adversely affect hospitals, schools and businesses," he said.
"In some cases, it takes significantly longer, particularly for complex repairs in hard-to-access locations. Sometimes, entire communities are left without telephone, wireless and internet services for extended periods until repairs are completed."
Major companies such as Bell Canada and Telus Corp. have been decommissioning some of their copper lines in recent years amid a long-term pivot toward fibre-powered networks. But Kwan said it's important to note "we are not there yet" when it comes to the transition's completion and some homes still depend on copper network connections to make 911 calls.
He added damage to copper wires can also harm fibre optic lines that are often bundled together.
"If people go and cut the copper wires, there's collateral damage to the fibre optic cable as well, so the impact ... extends to beyond just the copper wire," said Kwan.
"It brings down the networks."
RCMP chief Supt. Peter Tewfik told the committee that two corporations shared data with police earlier this year highlighting the severity of the problem.
One of those companies reported 191 incidents across Alberta over a 12-month period, totalling more than $3.5 million in damage, while the second said it experienced 675 incidents totalling almost $5 million in damages over an 18-month period.
"The financial costs of this type of crime is significant," said Tewfik.
ISED outlines multiple recent examples of incidents online.
In August 2023, it said thieves stole Telus cables in Calgary, leaving 2,000 people without access to voice, internet or TV services for "multiple" days. Telus experienced nine cable theft and vandalism events in the first few months of this year, with a 100 per cent year-over-year increase of incidents in January and a 49 per cent increase in outage duration.
In October of last year, the federal department said vandals severed multiple Bell network lines outside Perth-Andover in New Brunswick. It said that led to an outage of Bell’s auto attendant service, an app that functions as an automated receptionist used by the local hospital.
Bell has said copper theft is responsible for 87 per cent of physical security incidents on its network.
Earlier this year, it called on provincial and federal governments to strengthen laws, increase fines and make amendments to the Criminal Code "reflecting the essential nature of critical communications infrastructure on the security of this country."
But law enforcement officials outlined some of the difficulties in preventing and investigating copper theft on Tuesday.
"They don't follow a consistent pattern. These are crimes of opportunity and are often reported after the fact," said Tewfik, adding it's impossible to safeguard some sites due to factors such as the large geographical area where they are located.
Tewfik said incidents are difficult to predict or stop because copper wire isn't usually protected by security measures such as fencing, lights, cameras or patrols.
He said these crimes are also challenging to investigate and prosecute, given the lack of consistent provincial scrap metal legislation across the country.
Tewfik highlighted another key problem in probing copper wire thefts, which is the difficulty of identifying and linking stolen metals back to an owner. He said copper can be melted down, removing identifiers before a stolen piece is later sold by the thief.
"So even if there is an identifier that might be on a strand, like a serial number which does exist in some copper wire strands, it gets melted down before it gets recycled, taking away our ability to trace it back to a source," he said.
Earlier this year, the government passed Bill C-70, the Countering Foreign Interference Act, which criminalizes acts of sabotage against essential infrastructure, including telecom networks.
Offences of theft and sabotage are punishable by up to 10 years of imprisonment. In the most serious cases, crimes causing danger to life are punishable by a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
While the Canadian Telecommunications Association said the legislation was a positive step toward protecting the safety, security or defence of Canada, it did not address the "rapidly increasing frequency of vandalism and theft that are disrupting telecommunications services."
The association, along with Bell and Telus, are scheduled to appear before the Senate committee on Wednesday.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2024.
Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press
