The story of a newcomer to Canada's recent theft encounter in Oakville has sparked outrage on social media.
In a post on a community networking site, Tracy Dunbar shared the story of her South African husband's recent encounter with property theft involving a handcrafted wood garden planter.
"My husband has been looking for a job for two years and recently started making cedar wood garden planters to sell, as a way of making some money. He made a planter and set it up near the sidewalk in our garden, together with a notice about sizes and costs," said the post.
The planter was allegedly stolen overnight from the home near Glenashton Drive on July 9, 2024.
The reaction from community members has been pure shock and upset. Some are calling it "disgusting," "shameful," "tragic," "despicable," and "terrible."
According to Kim Dunbar, the husband whose garden planter was stolen, the quick influx of comments in a few hours "amazed" him. Happy to see the support, Dunbar says he was "quite amused" by the community's reaction.
Dunbar and his family have been in Canada for around two and a half years, moving here from South Africa. In his struggle to find work, he began building homemade garden planters as a full-time hustle.
What he thought was clever marketing for his product turned out to be a disappointing experience when the planter he displayed outside his home was stolen.
"I've been brought up in a crime-ridden country; it doesn't bother me," said Dunbar when asked if this incident would deter him from selling these planters.
Dunbar was preparing to sell the planters for between $600 to $750 each. After his display model was taken, he came up with an "interim solution."
"I know there's demand for it even if you don't have to pay for it," said Dunbar jokingly.
"My reaction to it being taken was a combination of disillusionment and disappointment; disappointment from the point of view that the one thing that we've enjoyed so much in Canada is the sense of security that one has," he continued.
"It strikes me that the values in Canada are at a higher level than they are from where I've come from. The harsh reality is that (theft) happens in all countries of the world."
Dunbar says he will continue to display his garden planters on his property and start selling them to prospective buyers. While he's found some humour in the situation, he says it has also served as a reminder not to take his sense of security for granted.
Dunbar was happy to share that since he's implemented his interim solution, he hasn't had any issues. He asks that anyone interested in his planters email him at [email protected].
Anyone with information can contact police at 905-825-4777 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or haltoncrimestoppers.ca.