December 2, 2021 – The Manitoba government introduced The Scrap Metal Act (Bill 9) in an effort to combat the theft of metals.

“Metal theft is an increasing concern in Manitoba that affects public safety and can be extremely costly to individuals and business owners,” said Justice Minister Cameron Friesen, adding that the crime is particularly costly to the electricity, construction, telecom and industrial sectors.

Thieves can often sell stolen scrap metal quickly for cash, added the province, making it hard to trace investigate those transactions.

If passed, Bill 9 will deter metal theft and the resale of scrap metal by:

• Requiring scrap metal dealers to record identifying information about scrap metal sellers, and details about metal sales transactions.

• Requiring dealers to report information about legislated items that are highly vulnerable to law enforcement, and to hold this information for two years for law enforcement purposes.

• Prohibiting the use of cash for highly vulnerable items, regardless of value, as well as some situations involving other stolen metal.

The bill contains exceptions to ensure it is “not overly burdensome on legitimate sellers”, said the government, and does not apply to items at a lower risk of being stolen and resold.

When passed, the legislation will be implemented in consultation with law enforcement and other stakeholders, said the province.