The City of Kelowna and the RCMP are taking stronger measures to tackle the sale of deterrent sprays, following a rise in incidents involving youth and adults.
“We’ve seen some significant cases where bear spray has been involved, including situations with both youth and adults,” said Cpl. Michael Gauthier with Kelowna RCMP. “We take this very seriously.”
In response to the growing concern, Kelowna has introduced a new bylaw aimed at restricting the sale of deterrent sprays like bear and pepper spray. The bylaw requires businesses to:
- Restrict sales to individuals over 18 years old,
- Keep records of transactions for three years,
- Ensure the sprays are kept out of reach of the public.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
Kevin Duggan, the city’s community services manager, explained the reasoning behind the new regulations.
“Similar bylaws have been adopted in other communities, and we’ve seen success in places like Chilliwack, Surrey, and Vancouver,” he said.
Since 2019, incidents involving deterrent sprays have increased by 80.5 per cent, with youth involvement rising from six per cent of all cases to 19.2 per cent.
“That rise in youth involvement was a major driver of our concern,” said Duggan. “We’ve also seen an increase in reports involving multiple victims.”
In the most recent incident, youth were involved in a situation that led to more than just a deterrent spray being seized. RCMP confirmed that a group of young females was arrested at a downtown restaurant over the weekend. One individual was found with a replica firearm, and officers also confiscated bear or pepper spray.
Despite these incidents, police say that youth crime overall is trending downward this year compared to last. The RCMP says it is involved in various initiatives targeting youth crime, including deploying officers in both plain clothes and uniform to areas where youth frequently gather, particularly outside of school hours.
In addition, the RCMP is continuing to investigate a case from last Halloween, where a group of young girls was allegedly bear sprayed by a group of youths.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
