Province adds $1.5M — quadrupling cap — for well-received security rebate program

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This article was published 15/08/2024 (421 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The province is increasing the cap on its popular new security rebate program, giving more residents and businesses a chance to participate.

The program, launched by the public safety division of Manitoba Justice at the end of June, offers a maximum $300 rebate to homeowners, renters and small business owners who purchased and installed security equipment since Sept. 1, 2023.

It was first-come, first-served to access the $500,000 initially budgeted for the program this year.

So many Manitobans applied that within days it was oversubscribed, Justice Minister Matt Wiebe told a news conference at the Legislative Building Thursday.

“The home security rebate program is a program that helps you to have a greater sense of security,” Premier Wab Kinew said, announcing $1.5 million has been added to the fund.

“This is one more step that we’re taking to help you and to advance public safety in Manitoba while also keeping life more affordable.”

Wiebe said more than 7,500 Manitobans have already applied for the rebate, which the province will begin distributing Friday.

“Every one of those applications represents a Manitoban who’s taken the step of keeping their own personal property safe, but also keeping their community safe,” he said.

“If your security footage can help your neighbour who’s had their garage broken into, or can help the business down the street who’s been plagued by vandalism; if your security footage can help law enforcement who’s been dealing with an arsonist in the neighbourhood, that’s going to make the whole community safer.”

Carrie McKinnon installed security cameras at her Glenelm home last October — long before the rebate was announced in the spring budget — because of safety concerns in the Elmwood area.

“It gave me such a sense of security knowing that I could see anybody coming to my yard or being notified on my phone,” she told reporters.

McKinnon, a health and safety adviser who works downtown, has owned her home for 25 years.

“I think I’ve seen it all,” she said. “I’ve had random people knocking on my windows. I’ve had people trying to get into my doors at all hours of the night; people are constantly checking out our vehicles. There was even a police chase that ended up crashing into a tree — all of this is on my property.”

McKinnon said she developed post-traumatic stress disorder after an armed robbery in Las Vegas a few years ago and is triggered by people invading her personal space.

The security cameras have improved her sense of safety, and the rebate brings the cost down, she said.

Progressive Conservative justice critic Wayne Balcaen, meanwhile, accused the NDP of falling short on its commitment to be tough on crime, which he said is getting worse.

“Manitobans don’t just want pictures of criminals, they want to see criminals arrested,” Balcaen, a former Brandon police chief, said in an email Thursday.

Upgrades eligible for the rebate include security cameras, doorbell cameras, alarm systems, motion detectors, reinforced doors and windows, anti-graffiti film and paint, security gates, pull-down protection shutters and permanent security fencing.

The rebate can cover multiple expenses for a single property or business under the $300 threshold as long as they are submitted in a single application.

Manitobans with multiple homes or business locations will be eligible to apply only once, for one location. Ongoing subscriptions or monthly fees for existing security systems are not eligible, and only equipment associated with a new security system is covered by the rebate.

For information on how to apply, go to http://wfp.to/rebate.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca