Manitoba moves to restrict sale of bear spray after use in violent crimes spikes

Anyone trying to buy bear spray in Manitoba will soon face some new hurdles as the province tries to clamp down on its availability.

Under proposed regulations announced Thursday, stores will be required to get photo ID from customers before they can see the product. The seller will have to verify the purchaser's identification against government-issued ID, and then submit the information to the province.

Sellers must also register serial numbers for any sale of more than two cans, which will help with tracing in the event of an incident, Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen stated in a news release.

The measures will deter people from using bear spray illegally but not prohibit its legal purchase, Goertzen said. There's currently no age restriction in Manitoba on purchasing bear spray, but the province's news release says that's something that will be considered in future.

Changes to the sale of bear spray, which is regulated under the Pesticides and Fertilizers Control Act, are immediately in effect, but there will be a grace period to ensure affected retailers are notified, a government spokesperson said.

"Any kind of regulations that they can have to monitor the use of bear spray is definitely welcomed," Bear Clan Patrol interim executive director Kevin Walker told CBC's Up to Speed on Thursday.

Being affected by bear spray is a painful experience that nobody should have to go through, he said. Only time will tell if the prevention measures have any effect on the use of bear spray on Manitoba streets, but Walker said the province is on the right path.

"Anything that we can prevent innocent people from getting hurt — I think that's a good step in the right direction," he said.

"If it becomes a problem down the road, they should look at furthering their legislation to maybe ban it altogether."

Incidents hit 5-year high in 2022

There were more than 1,140 reported incidents of bear spray being used as a weapon in Winnipeg last year, according to data obtained from the Winnipeg Police Service earlier this year.

That marked a five-year high for bear spray incidents — in fact, it was a 71.2 per cent increase over the five-year average, spokesperson Const. Dani McKinnon told CBC News in February.

There were 848 incidents reported in 2021.

In a statement emailed Thursday, Winnipeg police Chief Danny Smyth said the service supports changes that would limit the illegal use of bear spray.

"It's far too easy to acquire bear spray," Smyth said in the statement.

Most recently, Winnipeg police reported that officers responded to three separate bear spray assaults in the St. Vital area between 9:30 and 10:30 p.m Monday.

When police tried to arrest three suspects — a 13-year-old boy and two men, ages 18 and 20 — officers and a dog were also sprayed in the face, the police service said.

"This is fantastic. I've been pushing for this type of change for quite a while," said Sel Burrows, co-ordinator of Point Powerline, a community watch group in Winnipeg's Point Douglas area.

He said the government's move to change legislation around the acquisition of bear spray is overdue and will be a major step toward preventing crime.

"It's all over the place," he said. "I just got a call recently, two 14-year-old kids were wandering down the streets in the inner city and spraying people as they went by.

"Totally innocent people just getting sprayed, and it's a horrible, horrible impact to have bear spray in your face."

According to a document on the province's website regarding pepper spray sales, Manitoba Agriculture is responsible for regulating the sale of bear spray because it's classified as a pesticide.

Retailers must be licensed to sell it, and they're not allowed to display bear spray in areas accessible to customers, the document says. Anyone who wants to buy it must ask for bear spray.

Under those regulations, retailers also have to keep a record of sales and a purchaser declaration form, which includes the purchaser's name and address, for sales of bear spray.

The form doesn't currently require people to show photo identification, although the province's current policy encourages stores to ask for it. 

Rick Shone, owner of Wilderness Supply, has told CBC News in the past that his staff have already been asking customers to show identification and fill out the paperwork that logs their name and home address.

Online sales

While that may stop a few people from buying it for illegal purposes, there's nothing stopping them from ordering it online and having it delivered in a couple of days.

The province's news release says it wants the federal government to consider stronger restrictions for online sales.

Burrows said there should be very strict rules on how bear spray is shipped, as it is a pesticide, but many companies flout those rules.

He intends to call the province to discuss steps it could take to ensure online sellers are abiding by the rules. He says those rules would increase the cost, "and the average problem person in the inner city is not going to be able to go through the rigamarole that's required to have a dangerous chemical shipped," he said.

"Nobody has a magic bullet that can fix all of the crime issues, but if we can keep going after pieces and pieces, we can make a safer community."