Bear spray controls pushed into crime spotlight
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/02/2023 (930 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Sel Burrows still has the can of bear spray he bought in 2007, ahead of provincial legislation that came into effect in 2009 to strictly regulate the sale of the wild animal deterrent now often used in assaults on Winnipeg streets.
The longtime community activist wants officials to better enforce those regulations to prevent criminals from getting access to the powerful substance, which is regulated under federal and provincial pesticide legislation.
“I think the first step is enforcing the existing regulations,” Burrows said Wednesday.
MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Sel Burrows holds a can of bear spray he bought in 2007 when he started trying to get it regulated in the province.
“I just got a call from one of my people in Point Douglas, that two 14-year-old kids were fooling around with bear spray, and they ended up bear spraying each other. What the hell are 14-year-old kids doing with bear spray?”
On Tuesday, Winnipeg Police Service Chief Danny Smyth said it’s worth considering a further crackdown on such products, following a string of assaults Feb. 19, in which at least three people were injured.
“Whether that means regulations of some sort or prohibition, I’m not sure where this lands,” Smyth said this week. “Right now, it’s just far too easy to acquire bear spray.”
“… Two 14-year-old kids were fooling around with bear spray, and they ended up bear spraying each other. What the hell are 14-year-old kids doing with bear spray?”–Sel Burrows
Change could come via industry regulations or tightened legislation, he added.
Retailers, such as sporting goods stores and wilderness outfitters, are required by provincial legislation to be licensed to sell bear spray, with at least one staffer trained in the sale of dangerous pesticides.
MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Bear spray must be kept out of sight, in a locked case to fit retail regulations.
The product must be kept out of sight, in a locked case to fit regulations.
People who want to buy it are also required to fill out a form with their name and information, and retailers are required to keep records of sales and the forms.
The legislation does not require purchasers be asked for identification, but some retailers do so anyway. (To add further protection, Burrows is calling for the regulation to require photo ID — and for retailers to make copies of to provide to officials.)
On Wednesday, a sales clerk at a Canadian Tire location in Winnipeg told a Free Press reporter he would be required to show two pieces of ID to buy bear spray.
Rick Shone, who owns Wilderness Supply on Isabel Street, said he thinks most of the bear spray used in local criminal incidents is purchased online or through unscrupulous retailers who are selling it illegally or without following proper procedures.
Call for machete sales restrictions
Rick Shone’s outdoor equipment store doesn’t sell machetes, but he doesn’t think restricting access to the long-bladed cutting tools would be feasible.
Rick Shone’s outdoor equipment store doesn’t sell machetes, but he doesn’t think restricting access to the long-bladed cutting tools would be feasible.
Designed to clear brush, the machete has become a fixture in Winnipeg police reports, after a string of violent attacks in recent months.
“Over the years, as a retailer, we have just done our due diligence… We don’t want people to just walk in and injure our staff with the product we sell, but we also don’t want to be part of the situation where somebody steals one or buys one to go commit a crime with,” Shone said of why Wilderness Supply doesn’t stock machetes.
Bad actors may be buying such items — to use as weapons — online with ease, he added.
Community activist Sel Burrows believes machetes should be outright banned in Winnipeg.
Such large blades do not have a legitimate use in the city, he said, and the devastating injuries they can cause could be prevented.
“I think they should be restricted completely… If you contact the police, they have a list of knives that are restricted. Why not just add machetes to that list? It’s absolutely ridiculous,” said Burrows.
“I had a kid show up at my door with his hand sliced right open with a machete, and his friend was standing 10 feet away with a big grin on his face — they were both high on meth. Fortunately, we got the ambulance there and he didn’t lose his hand.”
On Feb. 9, a 52-year-old man’s leg was nearly severed at the knee in a random assault at Ness Avenue and Mount Royal Road, a police source said last week.
Meantime, Manitoba Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen isn’t so sure restricting sales of machetes — requiring records be kept, similar to the sale of bear spray — would be sound policy.
“It seems to me that in Canada, our first reaction whenever we have a challenge when it comes to guns, when it comes to knives… is how do we make it harder for those who are law-abiding citizens to be able to obtain things?” Goertzen said last week.
“It never stops those individuals who are committing crime… Where we can stop them is certainly… enforcement, but also when they appear before the court system.”
— Erik Pindera
“Retailers like us, we hold a licence to sell this… you need to be a pesticide dealer to sell this in Manitoba. First and foremost, you’ve got to figure out if there’s anybody selling bear spray, if they’re not licensed, crack down on them — they’re the people causing the problems,” the 2022 mayoral candidate said, adding he would support governmental restrictions on the sale of bear spray online.
Shone said his staff require valid identification for anyone wanting to buy bear spray — and use discretion in selling it only to people they think are going to use it for its legitimate purpose.
“What we discovered over the past few years is, as soon as we’ve told people that they have to fill in the form and produce valid ID — it’s almost like 100 per cent — if they’re not here for the right reasons, they walk out,” Shone said.
On Tuesday, Manitoba Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen said he has been working with officials in the agriculture department to try to track down the most likely source of bear spray that has been used as a weapon.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Rick Shone, owner of Wilderness Supply, thinks most of the bear spray used in local criminal incidents is purchased online or through unscrupulous retailers.
Goertzen said banning the product or more heavily restricting its purchase could prevent law-abiding citizens from getting it, while people who use it nefariously would still get it illegally.
The minister said he has discussed legislative changes, which would target possession of modified bear spray cans, with the federal government.
“My position is if you have to do that, that’s fine, but that takes years,” Burrows said Wednesday of potential Criminal Code amendments.
“In the meantime, there’s a whole bunch of tools that the province has that they should be pulling… They should have all the city inspectors, health inspectors, all the various different people who inspect things, on the lookout for stores that are selling bear spray that are not licensed.”
erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @erik_pindera
Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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