New Brunswick utility sees 60 copper wire thefts in just six months
Waking up with no television, internet, and home phone was worrisome for Ray Montgomery.
The Geary, N.B., man was among about 1,000 people affected by copper wire thefts downing telecom lines in the Oromocto area on Monday.
"My parents who live just in front, both have the Lifeline,” Montgomery said of a device used to alert first responders in the event of an emergency.
“It works off the phone system, so right now they have no Lifeline. It's not operable at all,” he said.
Crews spent hours replacing the copper wire that was stripped from the poles.
It's not the first times thieves have struck the area, and it's not the only place they've hit Monday.
The company admits it’s an ongoing problem.
"This really started in the summer of 2022,” said Glen LeBlanc, Bell CFO and Vice Chair Atlantic. “There's really been an escalation though the fall. Just since October, we've had 60 copper thefts, if you can believe it, and 20 since January alone.”
According to a social media post from Bell's CEO, it has impacted network reliability for more than 900 hours in New Brunswick.
"Thieves appear to be targeting locations where large amounts of copper wire are available,” said RCMP Cpl. Hans Ouellette. “We've seen most recently as well that they're targeting lines directly related to some of our telecommunication services.”
“So police and the RCMP continue to work with partner agencies [and] telecommunication agencies to address these types of thefts,” he said.
According to LeBlanc, the Fredericton surrounding area is one of the hardest hit and the company is taking extra measures.
"[It’s] extremely high,” LeBlanc said. “This would be the worst we've experience in any province in the country. The cost alone -- this will cost us over $1.5 to $2 million dollars in labour and materials, just to repair the damages that are done.”
"We've hired security, we're increasing cameras that we have in our network, alarms, but the problem is that we have thousands and thousands of copper hanging on the pole,” the CFO added.
Montgomery is worried about how all this damage will affect the customer's bottom line.
"Obviously there's costs to this whole process, so who do the costs eventually get passed down to? It's us, the consumer,” Montgomery said.
The CEO of Bell is asking provincial and federal governments to help improve the resiliency of Canada’s telecommunications networks.
"Naturally, like any business, if you have escalating costs of this magnitude, one day it has to be looked at and addressed, but that is absolutely not where our head is right now,” said LeBlanc.
CTV Atlantic News is owned by Bell Media.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Demonstrators kicked out of Ontario legislature for disruption after failed keffiyeh vote
A group of demonstrators were kicked out of the legislature after a second NDP motion calling for unanimous consent to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh failed to pass.
RCMP uncovers alleged plot by 2 Montreal men to illegally sell drones, equipment to Libya
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
Government agrees to US$138.7M settlement over FBI's botching of Larry Nassar assault allegations
The U.S. Justice Department announced a US$138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
BREAKING Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Toronto tops list of most wanted fugitives in Canada
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.