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Private Members Bill may deter copper theft from electricity facilities

December 4, 2014 | By Anthony Capkun


December 3, 2014 – The Canadian Electricity Association is applauding MP Wai Young (Vancouver South), who introduced a Private Members Bill that aims to amend the Criminal Code of Canada to better reflect the severity of interference with critical infrastructure, such as copper theft from electricity facilities.

“These thefts pose a real and significant threat to the safety of Canadians and to the reliability of our electricity system,” said Jim Burpee, CEA’s president & CEO. “Given the high price of copper, thefts are on the rise. We applaud MP Wai Young for bringing this issue to the attention of Parliament.”

The Private Members Bill introduced today will amend the Criminal Code to address a gap in the current legislation, says CEA, by capturing conduct that is more significant in its consequences than mischief or theft (but less significant than offences such as terrorism). It will also help keep communities across Canada safe by better aligning punishments with the impact of criminal actions, adds CEA, meaning that penalties will take into consideration the larger impact of copper theft on critical infrastructure.

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