New law aims to tamp down machete violence

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/12/2024 (296 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The province passed legislation on Friday to stem the growing incidence of machete violence reported across the province, which will restrict the sale of and access to machetes in Manitoba.

“Enough is enough,” Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said in a news release issued following the passage of the Long-Bladed Weapon Control Act, which takes effect on Dec. 31, 2024.

“The scourge of machete violence has no place in our province and needs to end. Every Manitoban deserves to feel safe in their community and our government is committed to getting tough on crime and making our streets safer,” Wiebe added.

The new weapon control act lists machetes, knives and swords among the long-bladed weapons, whose retail sales will be regulated in the province going forward.

Under the new rules, retailers will be required to store long-bladed weapons in a way that prevents the public from accessing them without asking a staff member for assistance. Sale of such weapons has been further restricted to individuals aged 18 years and older.

Sellers will now require proof of identification to complete a sale that must include a type of government-issued photo ID. This could include a valid passport, driver’s license, a Canadian Armed Forces identification card, a federal Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL), a secure status card, issued centrally by Indigenous Services Canada, a card showing valid Manitoba Métis Federation citizenship, or a NEXUS card.

Retailers are now also obligated to preserve sales records, including purchaser information and transaction details, for a minimum of two years.

The Sun reached out to Brandon Police Service (BPS) for data that speaks to any reports of machete violence in the Wheat City, or data on the number of call officers responding to violence that included the use of long-bladed weapons, but was not provided any related statistics.

Speaking to the Sun, BPS Staff Sgt. Kirby Sararas, said, “This act is welcome news as many of the weapons we deal with are long-bladed in style, undoubtedly because they are so readily available for anyone to purchase.”

Wayne Balcaen, the MLA for Brandon West and Tory justice critic, worked as a Brandon Police officer for more than three decades, spending the last six years as BPS chief.

He pointed out that the NDP’s new legislation is informed by the work done by the previous PC government, including the restrictions imposed on the sale of pepper spray and bear spray.

“So, it’s the same sort of model,” Balcaen said. “And ours was very effective, because bear spray incidents have gone down more than 25 per cent, according to the last statistics I saw from Winnipeg Police.”

Balcaen added he and the caucus are hopeful that the legislation will help in what he sees as “increased violence under the NDP,” but admitted that over the years as a police officer in Brandon, he noticed “more and more reports” involving machetes.

“When I first started my career, you never saw them, but as I got into the tail end of my career, it was almost daily, if not every second day that we got a report about a machete being pulled or finding a person armed with a machete or a long-bladed weapon,” Balcaen said.

Inner-city advocates in Winnipeg, such as Sel Burrows, have also long advocated for such a law, citing an exponential increase in machete violence during the last decade.

Burrows had earlier appeared as a presenter before the legislative committee reviewing the machete bill, pointing out that the sale of machetes and long-bladed weapons in the North Point Douglas neighbourhood where he works has increased, along with violent incidents involving them.

The new legislation also imposes limitations on the length of knives, machetes and swords that retailers can sell. They must be between 30 and 60 centimeters, or 12 to 24 inches long.

Tools that are exempt under the new regulations include hedge trimmers, pruning shears and any type of saw. Retailers, whose sales are primarily based on kitchenware products, are not subject to the act.

Many retailers in Manitoba sell machetes, listing them as useful for hunting, clearing brush, and cutting wood.

Manitoba Justice has also written to Canadian Tire Corporation Limited, Walmart Canada, RONA Inc., Cabela’s Retail Canada Inc., Amazon Canada, Home Depot of Canada inc., asking them to comply with the new legislation, a spokesperson from Manitoba Justice told the Sun.

The new rules will be enforced by the province’s public safety investigation unit that also oversees the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act, which investigates safety complaints from the public.

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com, with files from the Winnipeg Free Press.

» X: @enviromichele