Legalizing pepper spray and other similar maces wouldn’t automatically make Canadians safer, experts caution after an Ontario cabinet minister urged Ottawa to change the laws.
On Sunday, Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey said he thinks the federal government and Justice Minister Sean Fraser should legalize both the use and carrying of pepper spray for self-defence.
It’s not the first time a province has made that request — Alberta’s provincial government did so in 2021.
But Jennifer Bajus, a personal safety and self-protection instructor at Krav Maga Force Fire, urges caution, saying legalizing pepper spray would be “steering people in the wrong direction.”
“I think that there’s better ways, and the better ways that it really comes down to education and providing resources and information on how to protect yourself and the fundamentals to personal safety and self-protection,” she said.
“I think that pepper spray is like a bandage; it’s creating a false sense of security.
“Because we stash it in our purse, we hang it to our backpacks, we put it with our key chain. And if you’re not carrying it and you don’t have it ready to go, by the time you’re fumbling looking for such a device, it’s too late.”
In Canada, any spray capable of injuring or incapacitating someone is currently considered to be a prohibited weapon, including any kind of mace or pepper spray.
If someone is found with pepper spray for self-defence, they could face charges such as possession of a prohibited weapon, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and carrying a concealed weapon, all offences under Section 46 of the Criminal Code of Canada.
In addition, Section 267 of the Criminal Code of Canada states that if a spray is used on another person, it could lead to charges such as assault with a weapon or assault causing bodily harm.
Noah Weisbord, an associate professor of law at McGill University, said the legalization of pepper spray can also lead to bigger problems.
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“I don’t think arming up everybody with pepper spray … is going to make Canada a safer place,” he said. “I don’t see how to design a law that would allow for the weapon to be held by the right person.”
Statistics Canada’s Incident-based Uniform Crime Reporting Survey states that in 2022, 4.6 per cent of victims injured by what is classified in the “firearm” category were hurt via a “burning liquid or spray such as pepper spray.”
Bajus said she would “love to see the government put programs in place and provide platforms where vulnerable people can seek out such resources specifically on self-protection.”
“What we can do is carry the information within ourselves and embody ourselves with tools and understand how we ourselves are a tool,” she said. “If we are properly trained with the right resources, the right information, we can use everything within our own self as a resource to defend and protect.”
Global News asked Fraser’s office whether they are open to or considering legalizing pepper spray.
Lola Dandybaeva, a spokesperson for Fraser, said in an emailed statement to Global News that “we will continue to work with all levels of government to keep our communities safe and ensure the justice system treats victims and survivors with dignity.”
According to a 2023 Statistics Canada report, young adults aged 18 to 29 who had been cybervictimized were much more likely to say that they carry something for self-defence, including pepper spray, compared with young adults who had not experienced online victimization (12 per cent versus three per cent).
Cybervictimization is defined as “behaviour carried out via electronic communication media with the intent to harm others,” which can include threats; harassment; social exclusion; the sharing of personal information online without consent; or other behaviours intended to cause fear, harm, embarrassment, or exclusion.”
For self-defence instructor Cyrus Osena, legalizing pepper spray is something that he would be open to — but that it should be seen as one tool among many.
The owner and lead instructor of self-defence school Spartan Krav Maga does not believe that pepper spray and other similar maces should be readily available at all times.
“It has to be looked at as a tool, put in the toolbox among the other tools that you have,” Osena said.
“I think the one thing that we need to consider is that if it does ever get legalized, we’re not going to wake up one day and see it at the drugstore shelves,” he said. “It’s going to be part of a greater framework of use.”
Osena says pepper spray should only be used as the “last resort.”
“Your job is, when faced with a confrontation, is to go home that night and have dinner with your family,” he said.
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