An Act to amend the Criminal Code (scrap metal trafficking and essential infrastructure protection)

Bill C-271 was a Conservative Private Member's Bill amending the Criminal Code (R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46) to address scrap-metal trafficking and theft of essential infrastructure components. Brought after Bell Canada, Rogers, and Telus reported approximately $100 million in copper-cable-theft losses in 2023 with telecommunications outages affecting hundreds of thousands of Canadians annually. The bill would have created new offences for unauthorized possession of certain copper, aluminum, and rare-earth materials, mandatory record-keeping for scrap-metal-yard operators (currently provincial under most jurisdictions), and stronger penalties for theft of telecommunications, electrical-grid, or rail infrastructure components. Did not pass second reading.