The City of Edmonton is exploring possible restrictions on knives being sold at convenience stores after several community groups raised concerns earlier this year.
Residents and business owners from the Alberta Avenue area along 118th Avenue, as well as further south along 107th Avenue, shared concerns with city council about knives being sold at local stores.
Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said complaints have also come in from businesses and residents in the Whyte Avenue and 124th Street areas.
The knives aren’t illegal, but advocates say their curved, double-sided blades and finger grips are clearly for nefarious purposes.
Back in April, city administration was asked to look at how to best address the problem.
An outright ban is a possibility — it’s one of four options administration came back with during a presentation Monday at the Community and Public Services Committee.
Nunu, who did not want to share her last name due to safety concerns, used to own a store in a problem area of the city but said it’s currently closed because of safety concerns after several homicides in the area.
“I came here today not in hopes of getting my store back,” she said Monday at city hall. “I came because I have young kids and I just wanted to make sure our city is a safe city for my teenagers and their friends.”
Nunu is one of several community advocates pleading for stricter rules on knife sales.
“Just get rid of all the knives together.
“Why are we having weapon in the stores? These are not butter knife. These are not a kitchen knife to cut tomatoes and potatoes — get rid of them.”
Most of the knives being sold are legal but Edmonton police have said the blades are often purchased by youth or by people using them for illegal purposes.
Because the federal government has jurisdiction over criminal matters when it comes to knives and prohibited weapons, options at the municipal level are limited to changing business licence rules and lobbying higher levels of government to change the law.
“This is a new area that we are exploring after hearing from the community that we want to give additional tools to Edmonton Police Service to make our communities safe,” Mayor Sohi said.
“If you can create a business class category for convenience stores that will restrict that ability to sell these harm-causing knives to the general public, then I think that will give a tool to the EPS to better control it and monitor it and enforce it.”
Councillors on Monday heard there were 532 knife-related events in the downtown core alone last year, but knife issues have been reported city-wide.
Erick Estrada also attended Monday’s meeting. He said the issue is bigger than just access to knives and requires a bigger shift in mentality.
“Anything can be used as a weapon. So this is a symptom and we do need to treat it before more people lose their lives and their livelihoods.”
City administration laid out four options for city council:
1. Create a convenience store category for business licences. That could either prohibit or impose operating requirements on the sale of knives. The city said that is estimated to cost a $940,000 and full implementation is could take two years, as the category can’t be added to existing business licences until they are up for renewal. The said that may result in a one to two year gap of unenforceability on any retailers of concern. Convenience stores that do not sell knives would still be required to obtain the new category on renewal of their licence.
2. Amend the existing retail sales business licence categories. It would amend the ‘Retail Sales (Major)’ and ‘Retail Sales (Minor)’ business licence categories to impose operating requirements that all retailers must follow when selling knives, with potential exceptions for cutlery. It would affect all retailers that sell knives, not just stores of concern, such as big box, department, kitchen supply, hardware and sporting/recreational supply stores. Administration said that blanket approach would be a benefit if retailers besides convenience stores are selling knives of concern. Option 2 is estimated to cost $1.3 million and implementation could take three years.
3. Leverage existing business licence review provisions. This option points out the current bylaw allows for a formal review in which a business licence can be refused, suspended, cancelled, or issued with operating requirements under specific grounds – including public interest. The city noted it is most often used by enforcement agencies when dealing with problem bars and other licenced venues, but at an estimated cost of $225,000, option 3 would see more effort put into educating agencies like police that such an option exists and can be used to deal with specific issues instead of a blanket approach – however the city noted the licence review process is time-consuming and resource intensive, and could come with legal implications.
4. Advocate to other levels of government for stronger knife regulations. The city could ask Ottawa to look at stronger regulations on the sale and possession of knives, and lobby the province to fund support programs for at-risk youth, victims of crime, vulnerable communities, and mental health resources to help address the root causes of knife violence.
On Monday, the community and public services committee voted to send the decision to all of city council, saying the topic was deemed to complex for a decision to be made at the committee level.