Winnipeg Dollarama ‘a lot calmer’ after Indigenous advocate becomes ambassador with security company
Posted September 1, 2026 5:08 pm.
An Indigenous ambassador is now among staffers at the Dollarama on Portage Avenue, and the security company running the initiative says incidents are down 80 per cent in the past few weeks.
“I’ve been profiled, and I’ve been followed. I want to make sure this is done in a friendly way,” said Viv Ketchum, an Indigenous ambassador with Impact Security.
Ketchum is a prominent Indigenous advocate and now an Indigenous ambassador with Impact Security, and is working at the Dollarama on Portage Avenue between Donald and Smith Streets.
She spends eight hours a day, six days a week at the Dollarama store focusing on de-escalation.
“When I see security guards apprehending a shoplifter, I go there and check. If they are going to arrest them, I make sure it’s a clean arrest, with no violence, with no excess of force,” Ketchum explained.
The initiative has been running for five weeks now, and both Ketchum and the security company see positive changes.
“It’s a lot calmer. And the employees are saying it’s a lot calmer in the store,” said Ketchum.
Ron D’Errico, the CEO and founder of Impact Security Group, says this initiative is something he has been working on for the past ten years.
“I find that we’ve actually had a really good community awareness by doing this. I’m enjoying that. We’re seeing an 80 per cent decrease in crime in the one core store,” said D’Errico.
The collaboration started a few months ago following an incident at the Portage location. One of the company’s security guards allegedly used brass knuckles during an assault on an accused shoplifter in late February.
“You know, earlier this year, we had an incident that provoked, uh, you know, the conversation of being where we need to go next, to fight crime. We decided we’d try a different approach. What if we went with force and empathy? Combined together,” said D’Errico.
In a statement from Dollarama, the company expressed support. Adding that it contributes to a safe and inclusive store environment for their customers and employees
Impact Security is working on expanding the initiative to other locations in Winnipeg’s core.
“We’re in the process of actually expanding it, not just here in Winnipeg, but other stores across Canada,” said D’Errico.
