As reports of bear spray attacks increase across Saskatchewan, so too does frustration from residents.
Calls are mounting for provincial and municipal governments to impose regulations on the sale of bear spray, which is currently only limited by age.
Earlier in December, draftsman and former mayoral candidate Cary Tarasoff submitted a report to Saskatoon city council calling for the regulation of bear spray within the city — a report he says was ignored.
“The officials at the police department are asking for this openly,” Tarasoff says. “And it’s not a matter of ‘what’; we have to talk to them to figure out what they want. It’s been publicly (said) in news reports, live interviews, they’ve stated. I don’t know how much clearer you need to be.”
Tarasoff expressed his frustration at Saskatoon’s city council deflecting responsibility on the matter.
“You say, well, there’s other ways people can get it. Great. Make them go to those other ways. Quit giving them the easy ways that are within the city. At least tie those up for the start. That’s what the police are asking for. They can’t stop everything, but they can, you know, ask politely for city administration and city council to give them some backing,”
In the past, cities like Edmonton and Vancouver have implemented bylaws addressing bear spray due to attacks increasing. Both cities did so at the request of their respective police chiefs, who supported the additional regulations.
Regina’s deputy chief of police, Lorilee Davies, says law enforcement would benefit from a similar action in Saskatchewan cities.
“I would say it’s definitely something that we are concerned about. And certainly, any opportunity for us to have more tools in the toolbox is something that we would advocate for, for sure.”
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Bear spray is also known as oleoresin capsaicin spray. Designed to deter bears as a means of last resort, the spray causes severe pain and discomfort to any who come into contact with it. It is non-lethal but can disable many people if used in a crowded area such as a bus or food court.
“And even I think if people aren’t directly impacted in terms of the spray, I think it does have an impact on your perceptions of safety, for sure,” Davies said. “And that’s obviously concerning for us,”
Davies is also the second vice-chief of the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police (SACP), a body of police officials advocating for public safety in communities across the province.
Davies notes the SACP has continually asked the province for further regulation of bear spray both in 2024 and previously.
“That is something that the SACP has said to the government this year and in previous years, is that if there were tighter controls at the point of sale, that that would help us,”
Davies notes that recent legislation around bladed weapons included some new tools for police to address the bear spray issue. Under the new legislation, officers can seize any bear spray found on a person in city limits and make summary judgements if charges should be placed.
“In urban spaces, you’re in a park, you’re in a school ground, you’re in a movie theatre, like all of those places, there probably isn’t a need for bear spray,” Davies says. “So, the fact that we can now take that bear spray and lay a charge, I think is a good avenue for us. And I think certainly that legislation around the urban aspect of it did speak to what police services, especially in Regina (and) Saskatoon, were saying.”
The Saskatoon Police Service said in a statement that as of Dec. 13, there have been 315 incidents this year where “Bear Spray or other burning liquid was the most serious weapon present.”
“In 2023, there were 256 incidents,” the statement said. “This data only where bear spray or other burning liquid is the most serious weapon present (not necessarily discharged). Also worth noting is that this does not include incidents where more serious weapons such as guns were present.”
If this trend continues, Saskatoon may be on track to have nearly one bear spray incident a day, despite previous calls from police and residents to have serial numbers or identity attached to its sale.
Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block acknowledged police requests to regulate bear and pepper spray in the past, indicating she would support changes to the current point-of-sale rules.
“The police chief has been pretty clear that he really supports a different way forward to make sure that we can at least identify where the sourcing is, where people are purchasing it,” Block said.”
“And people would have to register, and you’d have to have an ID so that if there was ever a crime committed with bear spray, the person who is the original owner could be tracked. I think that’s one way to start to make sure that we are getting ahead of a rising issue in our city.”
Some support provincial legislation that municipalities could opt in and out of, while others call for local government to implement its own bylaws.
“If bear spray or bladed weapons are a problem within a jurisdiction, they can say, ‘Yeah, we’re opting into that legislation,’” Davies says. “Then it gives their local police services … just another tool in the toolbox to be able to deal with it.”
Police and RCMP encourage residents to be aware of their surroundings in light of the recent increase in bear spray use, adding any suspicious activity should be reported to law enforcement as soon as possible.
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