Bonnyville Chamber of Commerce asks for support on crime 'epidemic' on behalf of businesses

The Bonnyville and District Chamber of Commerce was looking for the MD of Bonnyville’s support during a presentation to council Jan. 9.

Describing it as an “emergency situation,” chamber executive director Serena Parsons appealed to the MD to lend its voice to support the chamber’s grant application to the Alberta Government for funding to assist local businesses dealing with a crime epidemic.

Citing statistics from the 2022 Crime Severity Index, Parsons said Bonnyville was at the top in Alberta for non-violent crimes, followed by St. Paul, High Level, Wetaskiwin, Elk Point, High Prairie and Cold Lake, which ranked seventh. Completing the top ten are Lac La Biche and Peace River.

The significance of the number of Lakeland communities ranking in the top 10 for non-violent crime can no longer be ignored and has in fact reached an emergency situation, according to Parsons.

“These are not statistics we want to be known for as a community or as a region. . . I know, as do you, there is a lot of social and economic factors to this that really is seeing the increase in our non-violent crime but it has deeply affected our communities which were recently considered high trust societies that were known for our safety. We went from not being able to lock our doors to not being able to leave our car unlocked for a matter of minutes without it being stolen right in broad daylight,” Parson said.

The criminal activity is putting small businesses are under immense pressure, she said.

“Small businesses in areas with high crime rates face a tough decision: pay steep insurance premiums and deductibles or risk operating without insurance. Both options are financially challenging for small businesses with limited resources and narrow profit margins. This predicament could lead to widespread bankruptcies and potentially cripple rural economies,” reads the chamber’s proposal to Alberta Municipal Affairs seeking emergency grant money to support local businesses impacted by this “crime epidemic.”

Parsons said funding would be earmarked to address critical area of concern including assistance to businesses for covering the costs of security patrols, security equipment, insurance premiums and insurance deductibles.

A brief discussion among council following Parson’s presentation yielded no immediate decision by council as to whether it would lend its support to the grant application with Reeve Barry Kalinski saying council required time to read over the proposal.

Asked for administration’s input on the request, CAO Al Hoggan said his only concern would be whether or not it would have any impact on other grant money from the Province.

“What does that do to our other grant programs that would impact the MD as well the Town of Bonnyville, City of Cold Lake, Village of Glendon, etc.? That money doesn’t come out of a vacuum . . . Would that dilute the available money the province has in terms of providing money to municipalities?”

Council accepted the request as information and will bring it forward for discussion at a subsequent meeting.

The Town of Bonnyville lent its support to the funding request from the chamber at its council meeting later that day.