Crime continues to put pressure on small businesses in both rural and urban settings.  

Brianna Solberg with CFIB says 57 per cent of Saskatchewan small business owners say crime has graduated from being an occasional risk to a daily operational pressure. This is among the highest rates in Canada. 

“Saskatchewan also continues to report the highest crime rate and crime severity index in the country, so this reinforces what business owners are telling us.”

The main concerns small businesses are citing include shoplifting, vandalism, and break ins.

“Businesses are being forced to make tough decisions to absorb those costs and also being forced to change how they operate. Businesses are telling us they’re keeping their doors locked during the day. They’re reducing their hours, or they’re having to have multiple staff on site, so no one is working alone.”

Solberg says Manitoba has implemented a security rebate to help small businesses pay for the impacts of crime up to $2500. CFIB is calling on all levels of government to implement something similar, as well as stronger consequences for repeat offenders, faster police response times, and less red tape when attempting to report a crime.