Theft from hardware stores has doubled in the past decade, according to data collected by AQMAT, the Quebec hardware and building materials association. AQMAT president Richard Darveau told Radio-Canada that tools, including power tools, are particularly appealing to shoplifters, as is anything containing copper.
Whereas someone who can’t afford groceries might once have stolen from a supermarket, he said, “it’s even more profitable to steal something they don’t really need and resell it on platforms like Marketplace and Kijiji.”
