Update: As of Wednesday, May 15th, Shoppers Drug Mart Steinbach has removed the sign that forbid unaccompanied minors.

Many people have noticed a sign at Shoppers Drug Mart Steinbach, banning unaccompanied minors from entering without a parent or guardian. 

Owner Carolyn Capell says she really didn't want to implement this policy but feels it was necessary.  

“I appreciate the concerns of the community with the sign going up. Unfortunately, we've had a rash of thefts recently, lots from the kids in the area. We've heard there's competitions at the schools about who can steal the most from Shoppers Drug Mart and it's up into the thousands. We have to put a stop to it."

Capell says they were losing too much and her staff couldn’t keep up. 

“They are not only taking products from the store, but they are also taking time away from my staff who have to watch these kids while they're in the store and that takes productivity away and it was becoming very apparent that we couldn't continue going forward this way.” 

This new policy has already made a huge difference since being implemented and Capel says thefts are down and her staff are able to go about their jobs uninterrupted. 

Even though it is effective, Capell notes “I really do not want to have to put all the kids in this bucket. It's a very small percentage that are causing the biggest number of issues and I apologize to the community for having to do this so drastically.” 

Hopefully, Capell says this policy will only be necessary as a temporary measure to get the issue under control. She adds "I hope not to have to continue this."

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