\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
![\"MIKAELA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4042431_web1_251128-Cobra-Collectibles-00145.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS files<\/p>\n
\u2018Cameras are nice, but it just watches the person steal,\u2019 says Michael Paille, owner of Cobra Collectibles and executive director of the Sargent Business Community group.<\/p>\n
Some business owners, he said, aren\u2019t eligible; some, for example, invested in security before the program\u2019s retroactive cut-off date in August 2024, and others had purchased second-hand security equipment to save money. Others are interested, but in no rush to file, believing it would just be paying for security equipment that would quickly get broken or stolen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s numerous aspects of it that small businesses really aren\u2019t going to benefit from. The biggest thing we\u2019re having right now is a lot of businesses have hit that point of, unfortunately, they\u2019re getting tired of it,\u201d Paille told the Free Press on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome stores are getting robbed and ripped and stolen from, daily. Cameras are nice, but it just watches the person steal.\u201d<\/p>\n
As of Friday, $1,782,952 has been handed out to 967 Manitoba businesses through rebates of up to $2,500 per location, to be spent on security purchases or repairing property damage. That\u2019s the equivalent of over $100,000 per week, Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said in a news release reminding the public about the availability of the program.<\/p>\n
Winnipeg restaurateur Ravi Ramberran learned Monday his application for reimbursement on the purchase of security cameras at the Saint Restaurant and Pub had been approved, just days after applying last week. He described it as a fast process, but admitted he had waited months to apply because time it took to collect invoices, take photos and other steps.<\/p>\n
He believes other business owners are likely in the same boat.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they haven\u2019t gotten around to it \u2026 I think it\u2019s just work, but it\u2019s definitely worth it if you do the work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
While Wiebe called the initiative \u201cincredible\u201d in Friday\u2019s release, Paille, who is the director of the Sargent Business Community group and is set to host the second annual retail crime prevention conference in April, would like to see more provincial outreach to the very small businesses that might not be aware the funding is available.<\/p>\n
\u201cBusinesses are all getting hit hard, but it\u2019s the mom-and-pop, little corner stores that can\u2019t afford it,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you think of a guy that has a little corner store, and if he\u2019s losing $1,000 a week in stolen goods, is he making any money at all? And what\u2019s the camera going to do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Manitoba is the second province to offer this kind of business security rebate, after British Columbia.<\/p>\n
The amount distributed in Manitoba in the past three months already represents an oversized interest in the program, considering the other province in Canada with a similar initiative, said John Graham, Retail Council of Canada director of government relations for the Prairie provinces.<\/p>\n
B.C.\u2019s rebate program for small businesses launched in 2023 and provides a one-time reparative rebate of up to $2,000 and a one-time preventative rebate of up to $1,000 to those who meet eligibility criteria.<\/p>\n
B.C. has since budgeted $10.5 million for those rebates, but Graham noted its program has more restrictions than Manitoba\u2019s on which businesses can apply and budgeted nearly the same amount of money for a province with a population several times larger than Manitoba\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a very large amount of available money and it may not be fully used (in Manitoba), but the symbolism of its support is really important,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Considering the program administers rebates up to $2,500 per location, the number of businesses that would be needed to use up the entire budget is especially high, said Loren Remillard, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\u201cI would suggest that the success of the program should not be viewed as to whether the full $10 million goes, but it should be viewed in terms of, did the businesses that needed this program, that were eligible to access the funds, did they get full uptake from those?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd from my conversations with our members, those that were really excited about the program have availed themselves of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The program covers a number of upgrades, including security cameras and fencing, alarm systems, and anti-graffiti products. It can also be used to repair eligible damages. Business owners can apply for the rebate on the province of Manitoba\u2019s website.<\/p>\n
\u2014 with files from Tyler Searle<\/p>\n
malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Malak Abas Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg\u2019s North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Malak produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Reporter
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n