Knives Out

When is a knife a knife? Or, when is a knife not a knife, or maybe a knife, or not really a knife?

No, we didn’t hire a distant relative of Franz Kafka to write for Urban Affairs. But, as the City’s Community and Public Services Committee debated a potential knife bylaw earlier this week, we were left to ponder this cutting question.

Edmonton looks to be the first major city in Canada to regulate the sales of knives in convenience stores. After outcry from many at-risk communities in the city, a bylaw was prepped that will ensure convenience stores cannot sell knives, with this exception: the proposed new rule “does not apply to the sale of basic cutlery.”

Yes, Edmonton has a very real problem with convenience stores that sell knives, and the City has responded after a large outcry from community leaders. But convenience stores also sell ready-to-eat food, and that means they need to have some forks, spoons and knives on hand.

So, the committee members went down a very large rabbit hole. If there’s an exception for “basic cutlery,” what does that actually mean? Is a metal-bladed steak knife “cutlery?” What about any kind of metal-edged knife? What about making an amendment that the only exceptions should be for “single-use” items? (But what does that say about environmental initiatives that are supposed to encourage reusable things…)

In a very Czech-drama style, council was left to debate what the heck basic cutlery is in the first place. When is a knife a weapon, and when is a knife a tool?

And maybe this is why, when Mayor Amarjeet Sohi asked the members of administration if any other major Canadian city has tried to regulate the sale of knives in convenience stores, the answer was “no.”

So, why add the cutlery clause at all? Without any sort of wording in the bylaw, it would be left up to the courts to decide what sort of knife is a tool and what sort of knife is a weapon. So, a bylaw officer could write a $2,000 ticket to a convenience store owner for providing steak knives, but then it would be up to a judge to determine if that’s really an offence or not. By placing “basic cutlery” in the bylaw, the thinking is that at least some direction is given to the courts on what should be considered a weapon, and what shouldn’t. But, maybe, just maybe, it actually makes things… more confusing?

After debate, the committee recommended that more clarification was needed to the “basic cutlery” exemption. So, administration will once again be tasked to figure out when a knife is a tool, and when it isn’t.

When the bylaw is tweaked, it will need to be approved by the full council.

Despite the semantics, community leaders praised the direction.

“These weapons and knives that have fallen through the cracks have been a big concern to us and have continued to be,” said Christy Morin, executive director of Arts on the Ave and an advocate for a safer Alberta Avenue. “These convenience stores are popping up and I call them dandelions. I am not sure why, but they are popping up throughout the city.”

She said that these convenience stores are examples of “predatory retail,” when businesses in vulnerable communities sell items that contribute to the neighbourhood’s issues, rather than solve them.

“It is not something that has fallen into someone’s lap. It’s an economy,” she said.

Nunu Desalgne, the former proprietor of the now-closed Habesha market in 107th Avenue, said she refused to sell knives, but that other stores close to her did. And she believes it contributed to the demise of her business.

“Being here is not going to give me back what I have lost,” she told the committee. “But being here is making sure that this doesn’t happen again.”

Allan Bolstad, the former city councillor who is now director-at-large for the Alberta Ave Community League, said there would be no need to introduce this bylaw had convenience store owners been open to dialogue. But, he said that despite his efforts, they did not want to talk.

Sohi thanked the community for spurring council into action on the issue.

“I appreciate how grassroots knowledge can help inform decisions at council — and make policy changes and bylaw changes,” he said.

“They’ve all been asking for action in this space,” said Coun. Ashley Salvador. “And it’s great to see something tangible and actionable coming forward from those conversations. I recognize that this bylaw is not a silver bullet by any means, but this bylaw is really about reducing opportunistic, impulsive, convenient purchase of knives in our communities.”