Retail Safety: Manitoba Shows Leadership at a Summit

More than 400 people gathered Friday morning at the RBC Convention Center in Winnipeg for the Retail Security Summit, as the provincial government pledges to implement all necessary measures to combat retail theft. display.

Hosted by the Retail Council of Canada, the summit brought together business leaders, public officials, police, retailers and community members to discuss shared priorities and risk mitigation strategies.

At the summit, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew announced that the province hopes to continue supporting anti-shoplifting initiatives to improve the safety and security of businesses across the province. province.

Our government is uncompromising on crime and its causeshe said.

To cure the situation we see in the streets and hear from businesses, we must invest in prevention, but also the justice system and the police.

The Manitoba government provided $1.9 million to the Winnipeg Police Service for an initiative targeting retail and violent crime.

The Minister of Justice, Matt Wiebe, specifies that Retail theft is not a victimless crime.

In a press release, however, he adds that reactions to the provincial support program have been extremely positive.

According to the president and CEO of the Retail Council of Canada, Diane Brisebois, Manitoba is an example to follow.

We want to use Manitoba as a pilot project to encourage other provinces to follow Manitoba’s example.

We must applaud Manitoba, the Prime Minister, the mayor of Winnipeg as well as all the people who work in the communities because they agreed to sit down at a round table to define the problem, but also to find solutions togethershe says.

The importance of collaboration

For the general director of Enterprise Riel, Erwan Bouchard, it is reassuring to see so many people engaging in collaborative discussions.

We are starting to see that there is a need for dialogue, a need for collaboration between traders, but also the community more broadly.he said.

For him, education plays a very important role in crime prevention. He specifies that Entreprise Riel wishes to inform members of the business of violent acts as well as the strategies that are used.

We talked a lot about online training which was even accessible for freesays the general manager.

The president and CEO of the Retail Council of Canada, Diane Brisebois, hopes that the Winnipeg summit will allow us to discuss societal challenges related to poverty, organized crime and even drugs.

With information from Richard Sabeh