Persistent theft of copper wire demands crackdown on scrap metal dealers: Tory
Recent reports of copper wire fires and theft indicate someone is still buying the ill-gotten metal, said former Brandon police chief Wayne Balcaen, who is the MLA for Brandon West and the Tory justice critic.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
Brandon West MLA and the Tory justice critic, Wayne Balcaen: 'Somebody's trying to use it as a source of income.'
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
Brandon West MLA and the Tory justice critic, Wayne Balcaen: 'Somebody's trying to use it as a source of income.'
'Somebody's trying to use it as a source of income,' he said Thursday.
'What needs to happen is checking on the scrap metal dealers and determining if, in fact, they are following the act,' he said.
The Scrap Metal Act, enacted in 2022, successfully stopped runaway thefts of automobile catalytic converters. The number of thefts dropped to just a dozen in 2024, from 1,801 in 2022.
The law prohibits a person from selling a catalytic converter or such things as metallic wire that has had insulation or casing removed from it, unless they can provide proof of ownership to the dealer at the time of the transaction.
It requires a scrap metal dealer to obtain proof of identification from the seller and retain records about the transaction, limit cash purchases of scrap metal and provide regular reports to law enforcement agencies.
The Winnipeg Police Service said Thursday it is 'aware of various reports of copper wire theft and they are being investigated.'
'What needs to happen is checking on the scrap metal dealers and determining if, in fact, they are following the act.'–Wayne Balcaen
It did not make anyone available for an interview, or respond to questions about whether or not the police service has sufficient resources to enforce the Scrap Metal Act.
Manitoba Justice did not immediately respond Thursday when asked whether the issue is on its radar.
Manitoba Hydro said the theft of copper equipment from its facilities is a 'serious and ongoing problem' and 'very dangerous.'
'In most cases, thieves attempt to remove copper wire that's connected to equipment or stations,' Hydro spokesman Peter Chura said.
Christopher Katsarov / THE CANADIAN PRESS
There are calls for a clampdown on scrap metal dealers who buy stolen copper wire, which puts thieves at risk of being electrocuted and results in 'wire fires' that release toxic material.
Christopher Katsarov / THE CANADIAN PRESS
There are calls for a clampdown on scrap metal dealers who buy stolen copper wire, which puts thieves at risk of being electrocuted and results in 'wire fires' that release toxic material.
'This is very dangerous, as thieves could be exposed to high-voltage electricity and seriously injured or killed.'
Innocent bystanders and hydro workers are also put at risk, Chura said.
'Removing copper grounding wires can create hazards for our employees and the public around the damaged equipment.'
The business representative for the hydro electrical workers' union said their members wear protective equipment and know how to handle live wires, but people who break into hydro facilities often don't.
'In the past, they've found people in our stations that are dead because they climbed on top of a transformer and tried to steal the copper while it's energized,' said Troy Craig with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2034.
'That's a high voltage, and of course they get killed,' he said. 'It does happen quite frequently,' said Craig, who couldn't provide the number of fatalities. Hydro was not able to provide such numbers Thursday.
The public utility has taken steps to make it tougher for thieves to get at the copper, said Craig but, as long as they can make money selling it, the problem will persist.
'They've found people in our stations that are dead because they climbed on top of a transformer and tried to steal the copper while it's energized.'–Troy Craig
'If they don't have a market to sell it into, then it goes away,' the union rep said.
'The question is, where are they selling it? That's where I would focus my efforts,' Craig said.
On Monday, the Free Press reported on the scourge of 'wire fires' after the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg expressed concern about the hazards of toxic smoke from thieves burning wires and cables to get at valuable copper. A man who lives near an urban encampment said he's complained to the city about the illegal burns but hadn't seen any enforcement of the city bylaw that prohibits burning such material. Howard Warren also questioned who is buying the copper from the wire fires when the Scrap Metal Act prohibits it.
It's not just copper from melted wires and Manitoba Hydro grounding cables that are targets for thieves. Spooled copper is also sought after.
Early Monday, Winnipeg police responded to a burglar alarm at a Manitoba Hydro facility on Henlow Bay and arrested a man who was in the process of collecting spooled copper wire. In a recent, similar incident in Lac du Bonnet, the target was also a spool of copper wire, said Chura.
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In the attempted theft in south Winnipeg Monday, the 42-year-old suspect was found hiding between a fenced compound and an adjacent building, a police news release said.
Chura said hydro security staff monitoring surveillance video provided real-time updates to help police locate the suspect, who police said had a knife and identification belonging to another person.
He was wanted on outstanding warrants for failing to attend court and breaching release conditions. He was remanded in custody.
Chura said there has been a reduction in the number of copper wire thefts: from 117 in 2018, to 44 in 2024 and 26 so far in 2025.
He credited the Crown corporation's increased video surveillance and security patrols.
carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
Carol SandersLegislature reporter
Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol.
Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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