BONNYVILLE - To address challenges rural businesses face due to crime, the Bonnyville Chamber of Commerce requests a $5.3 million emergency grant from the Alberta government to help the “top 10” communities in the province affected by rural crime.
The proposed emergency grant would provide financial relief to businesses in Bonnyville, St. Paul, Cold Lake, and other rural communities impacted by crime.
“Our proposed emergency grant seeks to offer much-needed financial assistance to these businesses, enabling them to cope with the challenges of high insurance costs and maintaining basic security measures,” said Serina Parson, executive director of the Bonnyville and District Chamber of Commerce, in the letter addressed to Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver, presented to Town of Bonnyville council on Jan. 9.
In addition to seeking the minister’s support, the letter also requests a meeting with McIver.
“By far the biggest issue that our local businesses are experiencing is the increase in non-violent crime in our region,” says Parson, speaking with Lakeland This Week.
The Lakeland region has consistently ranked high on the Crime Severity Index (CSI). In 2022, St. Paul and Bonnyville ranked number one and number two in crime severity respectively, according to Statistics Canada. Bonnyville is also ranked high for non-violent crime per capita.
Businesses in the region have been impacted by everything from vandalism to high insurance premiums.
“The pandemic is behind us, but the recovery isn’t,” Parsons explained, alluding to other challenges businesses currently face.
This month, Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loan payments are due for many businesses. The CEBA program offered interest-free loans of up to $60,000 to small businesses and not-for-profits during the pandemic.
“If our local businesses start to close, then we see a real downturn in our local company,” Parsons says.
For those who believe an emergency grant is a “band-aid” solution for crime, Parsons admits broader socio-economic trends are at play and that the issue needs to be addressed by policymakers.
She used an analogy of an Emergency Department triage, where healthcare workers apply a bandage to the patient, followed by doctors treating the bigger problem.
“We need to put something on this to help deter the criminals in our region from attacking our local businesses,” she says.
A few key objectives of the grant include enhanced security measures, insurance relief, and promoting community-centric crime prevention strategies.
Parsons elaborated that local businesses and local security could form a crime prevention committee and stressed the need to work with local leaders. She encouraged leaders, mayors, and business owners to send letters to area MLAs and also address Minister McIver.
“From a Town [of Bonnyville] perspective, we wholeheartedly support their advocacy efforts in this venture,” says Mayor Elisa Brosseau, when contacted by Lakeland This Week.
Optimistically, Parsons added, “We want to have a thriving business community. Our region is so strong and so community minded. We need to overcome this challenge together. We have the ability to do it, but we need some resources.”
Town of Bonnyville council approved the request from the Bonnyville & District Chamber of Commerce to support the emergency grant initiative.
