Bear spray attacks on the rise in Burnaby: RCMP

During the latest public safety committee meeting on Oct. 23, an RCMP delegate presented a proposal for new regulations regarding the sale of bear spray to youth in Burnaby. The delegate, Constable Dwight Martin from the Community Response Team, said the proposal comes after recent attacks in Burnaby, including one in Confederation Park and another at Metropolis at Metrotown Mall. 

During the meeting, the situation sparked some discussion among committee members. 

“Between 2018 and 2023, Burnaby had a total of 436 violent offences where bear spray was utilized as a weapon. What is most alarming about the statistic is that the majority of these weapons files were committed by youth between the ages of 11 and 20 years old,” Martin said. 

“If I were to empty this canister in this room, I’m sure everybody would feel the effects. Essentially, your eyes will begin to burn; you won’t be able to breathe. You won’t be able to speak, and it will feel like you’re fighting for your last breath, so to speak,” he added, holding up a canister of bear spray in a clear plastic bag.  

In Canada, it is legal to sell bear spray to anyone over the age of 18. Martin said several serious incidents happened recently. The first incident he mentioned happened in Confederation Park, where a group of youth were fighting with each other, and some of them used bear spray. Another youth group came to utilize the space later and suffered the harmful effects of the bear spray lingering in the area. 

Martin said there was an incident on Sunday, Oct. 20, in Metrotown where youths were fighting in the mall and used bear spray on one another. Martin said a section of the mall food court had to be evacuated. 

“There were some children there as young as the age of three. So, imagine if you have your friends, grandparents, or children in this same environment wanting to exercise their right to do something in a leisurely manner, and somebody comes and sprays bear spray. It’s not a good feeling,” Martin said. 

Martin added that the municipality of Chilliwack introduced a bylaw to control the sale of bear spray to anyone under 18 in 2021. As a result, the number of reported calls where bear spray was used as a weapon declined from 164 incidents in 2020 to 98 incidents in 2023. Martin said during the same timeframe, incidents of bear spray use increased by 30% in Burnaby. 

“In conducting my own queries, I was able to confirm that youth can actually get this device by buying or stealing Amazon gift cards, then purchasing it online, purchasing the same bear spray from older students that graduate from their school, stealing it from small businesses that sell it illegally and are less likely to report it to police, or buying it on Facebook Marketplace,” Martin said. 

Martin said that the City of Burnaby currently does not have bylaws regulating bear spray sales. He provided examples of what the bylaws in other cities require for the sale of bear spray, including a minimum age requirement of 19 to purchase bear spray, signing a declaration form stating they understand the purpose and usage of the spray, stores must not display bear spray and keep it locked away out of sight and must keep a record of sale and request a valid government identification. 

Martin recommended that Burnaby introduce a similar bylaw, but in Burnaby’s case, two valid government identification documents would need to be provided. 

Most committee members supported the recommendations, but some had questions about the proposed bylaw. Coun. Richard Lee asked about the possibility of using bear spray for self-defence and whether some youths use it to defend themselves against assaults. Martin replied that bear spray is not intended for use in self-defence and is not suitable for use against another human being. 

“What I would say about councillor Lee’s last question there about whether it would be appropriate to use in self-defence, you could make the same analogy with a knife or a gun or other weapons like that, and it’s not legal to carry those items around, even though, you know, there could be a situation of self-defence occurring there. It’s not something that is legal to use on another person there,” said Graham de la Gorgendiere, Burnaby RCMP’s officer in charge. “What we do see is that bear sprays are being used many times in conjunction while they’re committing another crime, whether it’s a robbery, home invasion, or some other assault.” 

He added that while it is difficult to control the sale of bear spray online, the bylaws would probably reduce the number of attacks using bear spray as seen in other municipalities.

This piece was made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.

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