Action needed to stop machete attacks

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/08/2024 (396 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Over the last few days, it has become abundantly clear that machetes are the latest weapon of choice in Winnipeg — and, for that matter, in other parts of the province as well.

They’re easy to find, and they’re cheap. A simple search finds plenty for sale.

One local parts and equipment store has the “13-inch Carnivore XZ Titanium Machete” on clearance sale this week, marked down to $16.23 from $24.99. It’s one of three types of the knife that are available, none more than $35.

A local discount store’s monthly flyer has a “46-cm black machete with black sheath” for $10, under the headline “Slashing prices every day — Swords and Knives.”

A national hardware store has 10 different machetes for sale in its web catalogue, ranging from $19.99 all the way up to $139.99.

This is not meant to name and shame retailers who are selling what is, at this point, a legal product — it’s to point out how ubiquitous long knives like machetes are, and how easy and cheap they are to buy. But it’s clear something has to be done about the weapons.

Last Friday, the chief of the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (NCN), Angela Levasseur, called on the provincial government to bring in regulations to restrict the sale of machetes.

The call came after an NCN woman was attacked with a machete in June, followed by a man weeks later, who was severely injured and required nearly 50 staples to close his wounds.

Machetes have “been weaponized and they’re being used increasingly in First Nations communities,” Levasseur said.

Then, on Saturday in Winnipeg’s North End, a 15-year-old boy was attacked by another youth wielding a machete.

The youth who was attacked suffered staggering injuries: amputated fingers, two broken arms, skull fractures and serious cuts to his arms, back and face. He required more than 20 hours of emergency surgery.

Michalla Smart, the victim’s half-sister, was blunt about the attack: “We all know the stories. Winnipeg is literally known, and made fun of, for its knife violence,” she said.“It’s gotten to a point where so many people are losing their lives, and too many young people are losing their lives … Enough people have lost their lives to street violence in Winnipeg and it has got to be stopped.”

Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said the province will consider how best to regulate the sale of machetes. “These kinds of attacks are appalling and any kind of knife violence is too much,” he told the Free Press. “We are hearing this is an ongoing problem and we need to take action, and that’s what we intend to do.”

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

The Wrap

Weekday Evenings

Today’s must-read stories and a roundup of the day’s headlines, delivered every evening.

Sign up for The Wrap

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

But regulation of something as common as a machete might not be easy.

There have been arguments that the province needs to bring in the same kinds of restrictions that were used to limit the sale of bear spray, a move that appears to have cut the number of attacks using the spray by about 24 per cent. The rules around bear spray require purchasers to show photo identification to buy the spray, identification that is then recorded by the province.

And while that’s a first step, the simple fact is that there are far more places selling long knives and machetes than there are selling bear spray, and far more machetes already out there in the community, in sheds, garages, workshops and other regularly burgled outbuildings.

One thing Smart said after her brother’s attack rings especially true: while the attacker was charged with aggravated assault, she questions why there wasn’t a charge of attempted murder.

If you choose to attack someone with something as damaging as a machete, is there any way you can argue you didn’t intend to kill?