Clearview’s new copper rush

Editor:

Upon arrival at my place on Aug. 15, I discovered I had no dial tone on the land line. (I am of the generation that still enjoys the land line and needs it for my internet). When I called Bell (with my cell), they told me their technicians were installing cable and the issuewould be fixed by the following Monday.

I was surprised when by the following weekend, my Bell service had not been restored. I made an appointment with a Bell technician to investigate the issue for Sunday morning. The technician arrived and informed me that their cable on County Road 9 had been stolen. Apparently, the thieves take it to a recycler and are reimbursed for its copper content. While I understand this is a common problem for Bell elsewhere in Ontario, I suspect it’s new to Clearview. I wonder also if Bell installed the cable on the previous weekend, then had it been stolen a second time? The new date I can expect my service to resume is September 1. Perhaps Bell will give the thieves the opportunity to mine the copper yet again?

Anyway, from Bell’s website, “Copper theft related incidents have increased 23 per cent year-over-year across Canada. Since 2022, Bell has recorded more than 2,270 copper thefts nationwide. Copper thefts now account for 88 per cent of all physical security incidents on Bell’s network, with over 500 cases reported in the first half of 2025 alone. Ontario remains the hardest- hit province, representing 63 per cent of all incidents, with hotspots including Hamilton, Cambridge, and Windsor.”

According to Bell, “Copper theft is a serious crime that directly threatens the safety and well- being of Canadians. These thefts are not just about stolen copper; the perpetrators often damage other infrastructure such as fibre cable and the crime can potentially put lives at risk when people can’t call 911 as a result of the damage.”

I’m reminded of the Noisy River Telephone company and the efforts the founders went to in 1908 to establish the original service connecting Dunedin and Websterville to Creemore (thank you Helen Blackburn). I wonder what they would have done if they were aware of thieves stealing their lines. Perhaps I should heed the advice of my friends (particularly the younger ones) to permanently cut my land line.

In the meantime, I wait. Maybe the thieves will keep striking until the last strand of copper is gone, or maybe Bell will finally decide that fibre is the only way forward. Maybe Bell should hire the thieves as subcontractors. Either way, it’s strange to think that in 1908 the Noisy River pioneers strung lines across fence posts and farm fields so neighbours could talk—and more than a century later, we’re still struggling to keep those connections alive. Perhaps the great County Road 9 copper caper will convince Bell (and me) to get rid of copper and join the fibre future those early pioneers could only have dreamed of.

Greg Young,

Creemore.