Kitchener, Ont., arrow death: 5 facts about bows and arrows in Canada

The death of Michael Gibbon, who was hit in the chest with an arrow on Monday morning on a Kitchener, Ont., street, has focused attention on the safety of a potentially deadly weapon.

Waterloo Regional Police are treating Gibbon's death as a homicide, but don't know whether he was targeted.

There are certain regulations governing bows and arrows in Canada. Here are some of them, as well as other general information: 

1. What types of bows are used in Canada?

There are several types of bows used by archers and hunters across the country. These are the most common. 

• Compound bow: This bow has a bowstring pulley arrangement that allows hunters to use less force than a traditional bow when they pull back the bow string to fire an arrow. It is shot by holding the bow vertically.
• Crossbow: This bow is mounted at right angles to a crosspiece that is held horizontally, like aiming a rifle or shotgun. Projectiles fired from a crossbow are called bolts.
• Recurve bow: These bows are used in Olympic archery competitions. It's called a recurve bow because the tips of the bow curve away from the archer until they pull back on the bow string. This bow is shaped like a curly brace punctuation mark: { . 
• Long bow: This bow is usually as tall as the archer, and is shaped like a regular bracket: ( . The tips of the bow don't curve away from the archer. 

2. What are the rules for owning a crossbow in Canada?

The RCMP says if the crossbow can be aimed and fired with one hand, or the overall length of the bow is 500 millimetres or less, it is illegal to own or buy one. However, you don't need a licence or registration to own a crossbow longer than 500 mm, a crossbow that requires two hands, or any other kind of bow.

• RCMP's crossbow FAQs

​3. What are the rules for crossbows in Ontario?

Ontario, where Gibbon was killed, has very specific rules around bows and crossbows in the province. 

For hunting purposes, crossbows must have a draw length of at least 300 mm, and a draw weight of a least 45 kilograms or 54 kg, depending on what type of animal is being hunted. Bolts, the arrows fired from a crossbow, must have at least two sharp cutting edges on them and the head of the bolt must be at least 22 mm wide.

Other bows must have a draw length of 700 mm or less, and a draw weight of at least 18 or 22 kg, again depending on what animal is being hunted. The draw weight for a bow being used to hunt moose is greater than for deer, for example. In both cases, arrows have to be at least 600 mm long and have a head of at least 22 mm wide with two sharp cutting edges.

Note: Sharp-eyed readers may have noticed that Ontario specifies draw lengths for bows, while RCMP regulations speak to overall length for bows. CBC News confirmed with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry that provincial regulations are in compliance with RCMP regulations.

• Ontario hunting regulations

4. What other rules govern how you can use a bow in Ontario?

Many jurisdictions in Ontario prohibit having a loaded firearm within 8 metres of a road or roadside fence line, which includes Kitchener, where Gibbons was killed. Across the province, it's illegal to fire a weapon from or across a public right of way for vehicle traffic while hunting.  

5. Are deaths by bow and arrow tracked in Canada?

Statistics Canada does not track data specifically for deaths caused by arrows, no matter the kind of bow used. Instead, those deaths (if they have occurred) are included in the "Other Piercing/Cutting Instruments" category, which also includes things like hatchets, axes, ice picks and bayonets, swords, shivs (homemade knives) and shears.