Daniela Germano
Lumber is shown in the back of a van in this recent image provided by the Saskatoon Police Service. The skyrocketing cost of lumber is fuelling a trend that has authorities across the country warning builders to keep their guard up. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Saskatoon Police Service-Const. Derek Chesney MANDATORY CREDIT May 12, 2021 - 11:38 AM
The skyrocketing cost of lumber is fuelling a trend that has authorities across the country warning builders to keep their guard up.
Canadian authorities have been warning about the rise in lumber thefts, which has some people quipping on social media that wood has become as desirable as gold.
SASKATOON The owner of Burron Lumber says in his 45 years in the lumber business he’s seen certain trends but never anything like this. Bob Burron says he’s heard of lumber thefts from suppliers and how they’re starting to put chain link fences around their project to keep people out. “Anytime there’s a drastic price increase or a product is critical in the supply chain, you’re gonna have theft,” Burron told CTV News. According to numbers released by Statistics Canada on Thursday, the price of lumber has gone up each year but jumped more than 118 per cent in the last year.
SASKATOON After putting the screws to the suspect, Saskatoon police received a response that lacked a certain grain of truth. Cst. Derek Chesney told CTV News officers were recently dispatched to the northwest area of the city for a suspicious van with a load of lumber in the back. When we rolled up, number one, he said he was building a deck, and he wasn t using pressure treated lumber, which is interesting. And then I asked him the dimensions of the deck and he said he was going to build a four-by-14 deck, so I said that s more of a walkway than a deck.
Saskatoon police seized a load of stolen lumber on May 4, 2021. (Derek Chesney/Saskatoon Police Service)
With the high cost of wood, so-called “lumber pirates” continue to strike in Saskatoon.
On Tuesday, a tip from the public led police to a minivan loaded with almost $1,000 worth of stolen timber.
“This vehicle was in an odd place. We rolled up on him and the guy’s story didn’t add up,” said Const. Derek Chesney of the Saskatoon Police Service.
Officers determined the lumber had been taken from a job site just a few blocks away.
Lumber disappearing from work sites is what prompted the Saskatoon and Region Home Builders’ Association (SRHBA) to issue a warning to its members.