The Club de Motoneigistes du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean faces an unusual problem, to say the least: bad guys are suspected of stealing street signs along its routes.
The theft would involve about forty missing panels. The motives of the thugs are still unknown at the time of writing this article, although some hypotheses appear likely.
Just as copper was desirable to merchants, aluminum is now in the crosshairs of these urban marauders.
The stolen road signs are made of aluminum.
Another hypothesis is that the panels were stolen because of their popularity; In fact, a shady market allows anyone who wants to decorate their home with these panels to buy them.
The thefts not only affect the Club de Motoneigistes du Saguenay, but also other clubs across the province.
It is indeed a financial bane for clubs, who have to spend between $5,000 and $10,000 annually to mark their trails.
These thefts also pose security problems, both because of the accidents that could happen, for example due to the lack of a stop sign, and because of the users who could get lost.