A new bylaw makes it harder to buy bear spray in Saskatoon, but one retailer says criminals won't care

Paul Dubinski isn't convinced Saskatoon's new bear spray bylaw that adds strict reporting requirements for stores selling the repellent will make the city safer.

"Any product can be misused, whether it's a gun or knife, bear spray, a baseball bat," Dubinski said in an interview. "If there's no consequences for breaking the law, you can pass all the legislation you want."

Dubinski owns Back Forty Guns & Gear in Saskatoon and he sells about a dozen canisters of bear spray every year. He said the new bylaw won't stop criminals from buying bear spray online or from the black market.

"You can go on Amazon or eBay and you can order this stuff and get it," he said.

"Is it a good idea? Sure, and I'm all for it. But do I think it's going to make a big difference? No."

On Wednesday, city council unanimously approved changes to the Business License Bylaw that makes it harder to buy bear spray in the city. Saskatoon police requested the changes to deal with a rapid rise in public bear spray attacks.

The new rules for buying and selling bear spray require retailers to:

• Record the name, age, address and phone number of customers buying bear spray, the time of sale and the name of the employee who sold it.
• Document details of purchased products such as brand and serial number.
• Make sure anyone who buys bear spray is 18 years or older by checking two pieces of ID, including one with a photo.
• Keep these records for two years and hand them over to the city when asked.
• Face fines up to $10,000 for individuals and $25,000 for corporations if bylaws are violated.

Businesses known to sell bear spray were informed of the changes while some large sporting goods stores were already voluntarily checking ID, according to the city.

Public bear spray attacks in the city nearly doubled in recent years, to 367 last year, from 185 in 2021, according to Saskatoon police. More than half the 2024 incidents involved youth.

Dubinski already requires customers to hand over their personal information before buying bear spray. He said the new bylaw is good to have in place to help investigations, but it likely won't lead to a big drop in bear spray attacks.

"It's just like the gun legislation," he said. "Legal firearm owners aren't the ones that are the problem. People that are literally buying this for bear defence in the wild aren't the ones spraying it in Midtown Plaza."

Meanwhile, the provincial government's own legislation targeting street weapons is now in effect.

Dubinski said there's no doubt that unleashing bear spray is assault. 

"It comes out in a pretty big cloud and that would fill a city bus pretty quick," he said. "It's pretty horrific."

Saskatoon making it harder to buy bear spray

2 days ago

Duration 2:07

Saskatoon city council approved changes to the way the public purchases bear spray.