MOOSE JAW — City council is preparing to give the Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS) more powers to seize, from public places, street weapons that pose a threat to safety.
During its recent regular meeting, council voted unanimously to consider adopting Bylaw No. 5741, the Safe Public Spaces Bylaw, during the Sept. 8 regular meeting.
The provincial government introduced the Act on Dec. 5, 2024, while the document received Royal Assent on May 13, 2025, and came into force on Aug. 1.
The Act allows municipalities to opt into new rules that regulate the possession, transportation and storage of items that criminals could use as street weapons, such as large knives, machetes or bear spray, a council report said. The rules also prohibit people from defacing or altering street weapons to make them easier to conceal.
Continuing, the document said the legislation gives police enhanced powers to seize street weapons in public spaces that could be hazardous to public safety, although officers don’t necessarily have to lay a corresponding charge.
Furthermore, the Act contains exemptions to ensure that other items used as street weapons that have legitimate, legal purposes can continue to be used for their lawful purposes, such as food preparation and protection from wildlife threats, the report said.
People from whom the police seized objects can appeal to the court to re-acquire those items, the Act says. Otherwise, the weapon is forfeited to the Crown.
Opting into the provincial legislation will give police officers the ability to address street weapons through uniform provincial rules and offences, while if the city did not opt in, the rules would not apply, the document added. Also, the city can withdraw from the Act by repealing the original opt-in bylaw.
The Safe Public Spaces (Street Weapons) Act says that a street weapon could be a knife larger than 30 centimetres, a sword, a machete, a hatchet, an axe, a hammer, a sledgehammer, body armour, explosive devices, hypodermic needles or fentanyl not used for legitimate medical purposes, methamphetamine, wildlife control products such as bear spray, or any other prescribed item.
Furthermore, the Act says public urban spaces may include public buildings, parks, playgrounds, any land or building entered without the consent of the owner, common areas of condominiums or apartments, unoccupied land or buildings, vehicles travelling through public spaces, or other prescribed areas.
Meanwhile, the legislation says anyone who breaches the rules can be charged with a provincial offence and be subject to a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment for up to one year, or both.
The Act added that if a conflict existed between a provision in the legislation and a provision in a municipal bylaw or First Nation law, the latter provisions would prevail.
The next regular council meeting is on Monday, Sept. 8.
