Growing calls for Maritime police to help businesses deal with increasing social problems
Some Maritime businesses are pushing for front-line police officers to start patrolling neighbourhoods on foot as they once did.
"I think what everyone agreed on is what we would like to see downtown is just an increased police presence, right?" said Paul MacKinnon, the chief executive officer of the Downtown Halifax Business Commission. "You think about the old days of the 'cop on the beat.'"
MacKinnon says businesses quietly held a couple of town hall meetings with Halifax Regional Police this year, and while the force was unable to provide hard statistic, groups were told shoplifting offences seemed to be on the rise, along with far more serious offences.
"Assaults with knives, or edged weapons seem to be something that we're seeing more of," said MacKinnon. "Again, it's not super prevalent, but obviously, if that's growing, that's a huge concern."
It certainly was for 56-year-old Steve Bellefontaine, who survived multiple stab wounds in an apparently random attack Friday evening.
His 80-year-old father offered some advice to CTV News Monday.
"Just stay away from areas that have these reports of shootings and stabbings, until they have maybe a police patrol by foot," said Joe Bellefontaine on Monday.
"It wouldn't hurt. It would be a big improvement to what we have now."
The business community in Moncton has also expressed growing concerns about issues surrounding members in the downtown core.
More than 200 people turned out to discuss the problems last Friday.
"This province has not invested in social housing since 1970 in any sort of significant way," Moncton Mayor Dawn Arnold told reporters. "That's 52 years ago."
John Wishart, the CEO of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Moncton, told CTV News Sunday things have changed since a Community Task Force on Homelessness and Downtown Security.
"About a year ago, the estimate was, we had about 250 homeless individuals in Moncton, and the latest estimate is over 500. So, a doubling of those individuals in one year indicates that whatever we're doing is not working," said Wishart, adding that the issues are wide-ranging and serious.
"We've had vandalism, property damage, used needles outside our business doors, aggressive panhandling and our staff and our customers are increasingly afraid of shopping there, or of leaving there to get to their cars after dark."
Some businesses have already left the area, according to Wishart.
"There was a Starbucks right on the corner of Main Street, [and] they told us that one of the major reasons they left was because of 'social issues.' And this is obviously a chain that operates in every major city in North America, and I think we fear there might be others who are thinking likewise."
However, a spokesperson for the coffee chain disputed the claim.
"This store was part of our accelerated store transformation strategy, which was compacted in to 18 months from five years, beginning in 2020," said Starbucks Coffee Canada Communications Manager Leanna Rizzi in an email. "In Canada, that included accelerating the number of drive-thru locations last year, expanding mobile order and pay and Starbucks® delivers services and exploring other new convenience formats to best meet our customers where they are."
"This included a review of up to 300 stores most impacted by changing customer preferences, which the company permanently closed by the end of our second quarter in fiscal 2021. We have opened additional stores in neighbouring locations and we continue to grow and diversify our store portfolio to meet the needs of our customers," said Rizzi.
Wishart insists more needs to be done to protect downtown businesses in Moncton.
"Downtown represents only one per cent of the landmass of Moncton, but 15 per cent of the property tax," he said. "It's crucial that we keep businesses operating there."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Why drivers in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada will see a gas price spike, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
How to avoid the trap of becoming 'house poor'
The journey to home ownership can be exciting, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew warns about the trappings of becoming 'house poor' -- where an overwhelming portion of your income is devoured by housing costs. Liew offers some practical strategies to maintain better financial health while owning a home.
Toxic forever chemicals in drinking water: Is Canada doing enough?
As the United States sets its first national limits on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, researchers say Canada is lagging when it comes to regulations.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
McDonald's customers left with 'zero value' collection of free hot drink stickers after company ends program
It took years for Vinnie Deluca to collect more than 400 cards worth of free McDonald's McCafe coffee, a collection that now has "zero value" after the company discontinued the program.
Biden scores endorsements from Kennedy family, looking to shore up support against Trump and RFK Jr.
U.S. President Joe Biden will accept endorsements from at least 15 members of the Kennedy political family during a campaign stop in Philadelphia on Thursday as he aims to undermine Donald Trump and marginalize the candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When new leaders took over in ancient Maya, they didn't just bury the former royals. They burned their bodies in public
New archeological investigations in Guatemala reveal that the ancient Maya people had a ritual of burning royal human remains as a public display of political regime change.
Party's over: Coyotes play final game as Arizona franchise before move to Salt Lake City
Mullett Arena buzzed like few times in the two years since the Arizona Coyotes moved in, the fans amped for one last desert hurrah.