Knives will no longer be allowed to be sold in convenience stores in Edmonton.
City council passed a bylaw on Tuesday to restrict sales after residents and local business expressed concerns over how readily knives are available to buy.
“It’s a real breakthrough,” Allan Bolstad, an Alberta Avenue resident, told CBC News in an interview.
“It has been a sore point in the community for quite some time, but our latest effort produced some results relatively quickly, and so we’re really pleased with that.”
Bolstad is one of several residents from the central neighbourhood who have attempted to advocate for the ban of knives.
Christy Morin, executive director of Arts on the Ave, previously told council it has been an issue in the community for the past 20 years.
The city’s business licence bylaw was amended Tuesday to add a convenience store category and a definition of knives that cannot be sold in those businesses.
The bylaw change passed unanimously.
The creation of a separate category for convenience stores will help limit convenient or impulsive access to knives, city council has said previously.
The bylaw does not affect the sale of every day cutlery.
The city said the bylaw will not apply to retailers that “have not been identified as a concern”, like sporting goods, recreational and kitchen supply stores.
Full implementation will take a minimum of two years as business licences are issued for up to two years at a time.
The new bylaw will come into effect for individual stores when they apply for a new business licence, or renew their existing business licence.
The new requirements cannot be applied to existing businesses until their licences are renewed.
Stores are encouraged to voluntarily participate and remove knives from their shelves.
The approach to enforcement will rely mainly on complaints received by the city.
City administration said it will focus on ensuring convenience stores are licensed under the new category through targeted education, followed by enforcement where required.
Edmonton police will have the authority to enforce the new operating requirements and seize weapons when required.
“Incidents involving edged weapons, in particular knives, continue to be an ongoing issue in Edmonton,” said EPS Supt. Keith Johnson, in a news release on Tuesday.
“We’re pleased with the city’s decision to proceed with this bylaw and are hopeful it will have positive impacts on community safety citywide.”