British Columbia is launching a $10.5-million program to help small businesses recover costs due to crime and vandalism.
Economic Development Minister Brenda Bailey says the program will begin in the fall and is open to small businesses that suffered vandalism damage retroactive to Jan. 1 this year.
If approved for the rebate, businesses can receive up to $2,000 for cost of repairs and up to $1,000 for preventative measures like security cameras or gates.
The criteria for businesses to be eligible haven’t yet been released, but the government says the costs of broken glass and cleaning graffiti are eligible for repairs.
That information, along with steps on how people can apply for funding is expected to be made available in this fall. The Province says it will communicated to businesses through local chambers of commerce, boards of trade, and business improvement areas “to ensure business owners can get funding as soon as possible.”
In a statement, BC Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, Fiona Famulak, says they welcome the announcement of the new funding program.
“Recently, businesses of all types have seen an increase in costs to repair damage caused by vandalism, much of it due to the complex issues that communities across the province are facing,” Famulak said. “Many business owners have invested in preventative measures to protect their assets and maintain a safe environment for staff and customers.”
Bailey, who lives in downtown Vancouver, says she has also seen the vandalism affecting small businesses and heard from owners who are struggling with repair costs on top of their other rising expenses.
“We understand the frustration of business owners taking on the cost of vandalism on their own,” she said. “We are taking action to support businesses with new funding to provide relief to cover these costs, and make sure we have a thriving business community.”
The City of Kamloops and the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce have a similar $50,000 Vandalism Cleanup Support Grant program in place to end of December next year.
That Kamloops program helps local businesses affected by vandalism and graffiti with a maximum payout of $500 per incident to cover the cost of cleanup and repair, including insurance deductibles.
At last update in June 2022, there was about $33,000 left in the grant program.
– With files from Victor Kaisar
