New Sask. legislation intended to discourage street weapons comes into force

Yahoo

5 days ago

The Safe Public Spaces Act, also known as the Street Weapons Act, is coming into effect in Saskatchewan on Aug. 1.
The act gives police the power to seize street weapons, which include large knives, hatchets, and bear spray. Municipalities and First Nations must first opt-in to the act, meaning that each jurisdiction has a say.
Sask. Justice Minister and Attorney General Tim Mcleod announced the coming-into-force on Thursday at Moose Jaw Police Service Headquarters.
"All of the Charter protections still exist and the Criminal Code isn't being changed by this legislation," said McLeod.
"However, we have seen an increasing number of incidents where there were people openly carrying a machete, or unfortunately, bear spray has become a real concern in a variety of situations."
McLeod says that the legislation builds upon regulations surrounding bear spray, and expands it to other potentially dangerous items. The "street weapons" listed include blades over 30 centimetres, hatchets, sledgehammers, body armour and bear spray.
"It's giving police an additional tool where somebody may be carrying an item that otherwise didn't violate the Criminal Code, but is simply dangerous for a public purpose," said McLeod. "We've heard many stories coming out of Saskatoon with bear spray in shopping malls. Bear spray does not belong in shopping malls."
Moose Jaw Police Service's Superintendent Trish Seman said that the act will be an important tool for officers.
"Typically right now we would be more reactive than proactive," said Seman. "We get on the scene a lot of times and things have already happened. If we were at a situation or event, we see the machete as the extreme case … Sometimes we run into situations where we might not be able to seize it because there might not be a reason for us to, but this allows us now to seize it."
Possessing the street weapons in a public setting could potentially cause convictions with fines up to $5,000, or a full year in prison.The police don't need to lay a charge however, as they can simply seize the dangerous item.
Joanne Klassen, co-owner of The Boutique Next Door, says in the 32 years she's been in business in downtown Moose Jaw, crime and violence have declined greatly.
"It wouldn't be a city unless there were areas that felt unsafe," said Klassen. "As for walking around downtown, that is not a frightening thing for me at all. I think sometimes things can be over-exaggerated … It feels safe and fun."