Province asked to step in on copper crimes

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]Scrap metal theft has become a growing problem in southern Ontario and now Brantford is calling on the province to step in with an Ontario-wide crackdown saying local efforts to prevent the costly crimes just haven't been enough.

[00:00:14]CTV's Colton Weems has more.

[00:00:17]We've had businesses tell us that they're experiencing like over a hundred thousand dollars in damages whether it's damage to equipment or security costs afterwards or multiple thefts being unable to get insurance afterwards those create some issues. The Chamber of Commerce of Brantford Brant says they're hearing it all the time and something needs to be done about scrap metal thefts.

[00:00:39]>> This is any kind of business. This is your small shopkeepers to actually you know HVAC dealers HVAC installers. After nearly one million dollars in property damage and theft over two years Brantford passed a bylaw in 2024 making it illegal to bring certain items like sewer grates and shopping carts to a salvage yard restricting certain materials and requiring traceable transactions instead of cash. Brantford police did notice that there was a slight decrease in the amount of thefts but then after about eight months it started back up again but we weren't finding the material here in our scrap metal dealers here in town. Officials say it's not just from HVAC systems but even things like plaques from the Mohawk Chapel the Brant County Museum and Lorne Bridge. The city says Ontario needs a provincial framework similar to Alberta's Scrap Metal Dealers Act which doesn't allow certain items to be brought to scrapyards forces buyers to record transaction information and doesn't allow cash deals. It's not telling the police every day who's trading something if you walked in but if they link it to a theft that's occurred then they can they have a lead that they can start on. A spokesperson for Ontario's Ministry of the Solicitor General says this falls under federal jurisdiction and the criminal code telling CTV News in part the selling of stolen goods and damage to property are the purview of the federal government adding the ministry has confidence in police services to investigate these crimes and take appropriate enforcement action but praying says the chamber still feels the Ontario government can play a role. Now the Chamber of Commerce says it's now an advocacy piece for the Ontario Chamber of Commerce who will bring that forward to the Ontario government.

[00:02:23]>> This policy will stay on the books for the interior chamber for 3 years and it could happen at any point in time where where this type of topic comes in front of a minister or a part of the government. Hoping that a renewed push can cut into the crimes. Colton Wiens CTV News Brantford.