Bear spray used near a Saskatoon high school Thursday is highlighting safety concerns.
An email from the principal was sent to parents of students at Walter Murray Collegiate Thursday afternoon informing them bear spray was discharged near the school at a bus stop before 3 p.m., near the end of the school day.
“School staff responded immediately by alerting emergency personnel including ambulance and police,” the letter read. “Two students received medical attention, but all of our students are safe.”
Douglas Tompson saw an ambulance and police vehicles as he arrived to pick up his son from school. He said incidents like this are exactly why he won’t let his child use the bus.
“I don’t think any neighbourhood is safe,” he said. “Our confidence in the safety is just not there.”
While it’s inconvenient for Tompson and his wife to drive to and from the school every day, he said the safety concerns and hassles of their son being caught in a potential bear spray attack aren’t worth it.
“This is just creeping from the library to the high schools and busses and everything,” he said.
306 Securities and Investigations, formerly knowns as SPI Security, says bear spray is the weapon of choice in Saskatoon, especially among youth.
“If they’re going in their pockets now, it’s ‘are they going to grab some spray?’ Before it used to be, ‘Is he going to grab a knife?‘” manager Bryce Walker said.
Unlike most other weapons, bear spray is easily available, can be concealed and can be used from a greater distance.
“Bear sprays, they got such pressure on them. You can be quite far away and still affect a large group of people,” Walker said.
“Probably the biggest problem is you can go on Amazon and buy this spray, have it show up at your door, carry it with you to school. And, especially if you got a beef with somebody, it’s a quick way to spray and run.”
Walker says other sprays are much easier to purchase than bear spray, which is regulated by Health Canada. Other sprays to deter dog or coyote attacks can be shipped to your door in hours and can cause significant injury.
“I think it’s a problem, and I don’t think it’s going to get any better. The younger crowd is the biggest problem, and the easiest thing we can do is make it hard to get,” Walker said.
A rising number of bear spray incidents on Saskatoon Transit buses has prompted multiple concerns from city councillors and administration.
The idea of creating a bylaw to restrict the purchase of bear spray has been considered before, and Saskatoon police are expected to present a report to the city’s transportation committee in June with some requests to prohibit bear spray usage in public.
Police say a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old were treated for injuries following Thursday’s incident. The school resource unit is investigating.
