With the holidays around the corner, the spirit of giving is in the air, and donation boxes are brimming with gifts for the poor.
Unfortunately, it appears some heartless thieves are targeting some of those donation boxes set up in parking lots around town — and that the instances of theft are shockingly common.
Eric St. Arnaud, the CEO of the used clothing chain Renaissance, says the thievery is so commonplace at the donation bins that they've switched mostly to manned donation centres.
And Philippe Siebes, the general manager of Le Support, a group that helps people with intellectual disabilities, says his organization has had to install anti-theft measures like revolving doors, so that people can't get hooks inside to pull clothes out of the bins.
"There's not one day where we are not victims of theft," Siebes says. "I can't actually pinpoint exactly what it costs us, but it's most likely tens of thousands of dollars."
He adds that the thieves are brazen, even knocking over bins in broad daylight.
They also appear to be well-organized — often working in teams, and then reselling the goods they steal in flea markets, or online.
Siebes says while the theft is costly, upgrading security to protect against the theft is costly, too. His group has recently installed anti-theft rolling bins, but people continue to steal from donations left outside the bins. He's also considering better security cameras, but that he would have to wait until next year's budget to purchase them.
CJAD 800's Matt Gilmour contributed to this report.