Safety concerns affect not just bottom line, but mental health for Manitoba business owners: CFIB | CBC News

More than half of Manitoba businesses who took part in a recent survey say they’ve been affected by community safety issues over the past year, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

The findings are from a report released this week by the business advocacy organization.

According to the report, when asked, “Has your business recently been impacted by community safety issues?” 52 per cent of Manitoba businesses said yes.

That compares to 41 per cent in a similar report last year, according to the CFIB.

The 2024 nationwide numbers were based on a CFIB survey on crime and community safety conducted July 25 to Sept. 6, with 1,666 respondents, according to the report. It did not indicate how many were surveyed in Manitoba, or how the survey was conducted.

Across Canada, nearly half (45 per cent) of small businesses report being directly impacted by crime and community safety issues, the report says, up from 24 per cent in the CFIB’s 2023 survey.

In Manitoba, the survey found the issues most commonly cited by respondents were theft and shoplifting, followed by vandalism/break-ins and waste/litter, the CFIB said in an email.

It also found just under half of Manitoba business owners said they consistently file police reports, but a majority of businesses said they don’t believe doing so would make a significant difference.

Brianna Solberg, the CFIB’ s director for the Prairies and the North, said the impact of community safety issues on business owners goes beyond their bottom line. 

“It’s having a serious impact on their mental health and well-being,” she said. 

Some businesses have had to resort to locking their doors during the day, which ends up hurting their finances, she said. 

“It’s those businesses who want to be able to serve the community, but they right now are lacking trust in the community and the people coming into their business.” 

‘You feel helpless’

Evan Fogg at Luxe Barbeque Company says his business has experienced at least four break-ins in the last year alone. In one case, someone drove a stolen truck through a garage door to break into one of their locations, he said. 

“You feel frustrated, and sometimes you feel helpless,” he said. 

The business has added more security cameras and updated some of them to get better images, Fogg said. 

But “I think sometimes there’s only so much you can do without hiring somebody to sort of stand there full time,” he said. 

Seyed Mahmoud, owner of Ellice Avenue Deli Store in Winnipeg’s West End, said he tries to build relationships with customers at his grocery store in order to deter crime. But he said his family worries about his safety after he’s had to fight off people trying to steal from his store in Winnipeg’s West End. 

He said he wants the government to do a better job at helping people who are experiencing poverty and other challenges. 

“When the economy is going down, people need to survive,” he said, adding that he thinks many people who are shoplifting are doing so because they have no other choice. 

The CFIB’s Solberg said her organization wants to see governments pull together to deal with this issue and take a multi-pronged approach, including bail reform, harsher penalties for repeat offenders and better help for people dealing with addictions and mental health issues. 

It would also like to see better upkeep of public spaces so people feel safer in the community “and that they’re policed properly so that they are actually safe, not that they just feel safe,” she said.