Manitoba working to update security guard training curriculum, justice minister says

Manitoba's justice minister said the province is working to update the mandatory training curriculum for security guards after First Nations leaders raised concerns about an incident at a downtown Winnipeg dollar store where a security guard allegedly used brass knuckles on an alleged shoplifter on February 28.

The government is rewriting the 40-hour security guard training standard to include cultural awareness education, Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said at a public forum held at a Winnipeg hotel on Saturday. 

The event, which was organized by the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of Manitoba (IPAM), saw some Indigenous community members share their experiences with being profiled by guards with provincial leaders and security companies. 

Wiebe said stories like those shared at the forum will help revamp a curriculum that hasn't been updated in more than two decades. 

"We need to make sure that we have, as a foundation, if you want to be a security guard here in Manitoba you need to have the kind of cultural awareness, the kind of training that allows you to deescalate and work with people," he said. 

"It needs to be done on a foundation of respect for all people. It's time to get that training fixed." 

While Wiebe didn't give a timeline for when the update would be complete, he said he's "eager to get it done."

"We're listening to these voices, we're listening to these concerns. By bringing people in and bringing them to the table, that's how we're going to get the education correct and get the training right to make sure that security guards are interacting with the public in a respectful way," he said. 

Saturday's event comes after Winnipeg police say a 23-year-old security guard used brass knuckles on an alleged shoplifter. 

The incident, which was filmed and shared to social media, shows a security guard straddling a man lying on the ground, punching him and kicking him at one point, before pulling him upward and slamming him down again.

The video sparked outcry from Indigenous leaders, who said the man shown lying on the ground is Indigenous. 

IPAM board member Eric Robinson said Saturday's event was intended to bring community members who have had negative experiences with security staff together with security companies. 

"I hope that today we will be able to come up with a work plan that we can honour and adhere to in having respectful relations between Indigenous peoples and the security guard companies," Robinson said. 

"Their training policies and how they deal with our people is something that we need to address together," he said.