The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that in 2024, Bell Canada saw 915 instances of copper theft, attempted theft and vandalism of its copper network. Guest columnist Mark McDonald writes that this year Bell has seen an 840-per-cent increase in such incidents. Each theft means homes, businesses and services are disconnected. These complicated repairs can take anywhere from 12 hours to several days for companies to fix. There has been some early momentum in tackling this issue. Law enforcement agencies in hot spot areas, such as Southern Ontario and Quebec, are partnering with industry on special operations and education campaigns. Other jurisdictions, including Britain, special law enforcement operations cut copper theft incidents in half. This spring, Canada's Parliament amended the Criminal Code to make the targeting of essential infrastructure an aggravating factor in sentencing. As it stands, criminal charges are usually limited to the monetary value of what was stolen, often meaning the maximum penalty is for theft under $5,000. The repair price tags exponentially outweigh the value of the stolen metal -- and those figures don't capture frustration, lost revenue and productivity to local businesses.