REGINA – One significant item due to come to Regina city council on Wednesday is whether the city should opt in to The Safe Public Spaces (Street Weapons) Act.
That item is listed on the agenda posted on the city's website for Wednesday's council meeting. According to that agenda Regina Board of Police Commissioners has recommended council draft a bylaw to opt into that provincial legislation, which came into force Aug. 1.
The Act's purpose, according to a city memo, is to allow municipalities and First Nations to opt in to rules to ensure items such as knives and bear spray are not used as street weapons.
Under the Act, street weapons could be defined as any of the following: a knife 30 cm or larger, a sword, a machete, a hatchet, an axe, a hammer, a sledgehammer, body armour, explosive devices, hypodermic needles not used for legitimate medical purposes, fentanyl not used for legitimate medical purposes, methamphetamine, wildlife control products such as bear spray, or any other prescribed item.
People using items for legitimate legal purposes, such as hypodermic needles for medical use or bear spray for the legitimate use of hunting and hiking, are exempt from application of the Act.
But this Act would only apply to a municipality if they decide to opt in. If a municipality does not opt in, it would have no application within that community.
Already there has been some opposition expressed to the Act. Last week the Regina Harm Reduction Coalition held a town hall meeting in which they expressed their concerns about the Safe Public Spaces Act.
There are 12 delegations registered to appear at council Wednesday to speak on the matter. According to the majority of the submissions filed from those delegations, they are opposing opting in to the Safe Public Spaces Act, citing concerns this would result in harassment and criminalization of those using drugs intervenously and those living on the street.
Regina Acting Police Chief Lorilee Davies was asked Tuesday about the police board’s recommendation for Regina to opt in.
“So we took the report to our board. We are recommending that the city opt in,” said Davies. “We think for our officers, it really will just be another tool that we can use in situations to improve downtown safety.”
Davies tried to reassure those who might be concerned that the legislation might lead to police overreach.
“So there are no additional search powers in that legislation. There's nothing that says if you're walking down the street and you're a diabetic and you have needles in your purse, that we're going to seize them. I mean, that's not the intention. It's really in instances where weapons are being used downtown in a way that's not safe.”
She pointed to the example of someone carrying a machete down 11th Ave. in the city.
“We don't want that. So this legislation gives us the power to seize that, not lay a criminal charge. We can issue a provincial ticket so it's less criminalization. But really, it's just another tool for our officers in the city to use their discretion to be able to take dangerous weapons off the street.”
Davies was asked about the portion of the legislation that designates drugs and drug paraphernalia as weapons. The indication from Davies was that it depended on the situation.
“I think if somebody is using, for instance, a needle in a way that's threatening to public safety, then we would likely seize it. If somebody has needles on them because harm reduction and addictions, that's not something we're going to take those needles away. So we rely on our front line to use discretion every day, and I don't see a lot changing with the introduction of this legislation.”
Davies said she did not see a “bunch of seizures of needles… unless they're being used in a way that's threatening. I don't see that being a big change in the way we do business.”
Davies was also asked if this aligned with the responsibilities of the downtown safety team.
“Absolutely. I mean, our AROs are out there every day, so they see things that they might feel are unsafe. If somebody, for instance, has a needle in their hand and they're acting aggressively, they can seize that needle. We're not about to criminalize people who are facing addictions unless it's absolutely necessary. They can issue a ticket if they want, or they can just seize the needle to take it sort of out of public hands.”
