Canadian knife legality and etiquite

M

Marcus

Joined
Oct 4, 1998
Messages
622
I`m going to be taking my lovely wife to Niagara Falls Canada next week for our anniversary (10 years,I can`t believe it!!!). I`ve never been to Canada before and I`m not real clear on the knife laws and customs up there. Being a CCW holder here it`ll feel strange enough not to be "walking heavy" let alone without a decent knife! I`m guessing even my 5" Vaquero will be off limits? I`ve been planning on just my Gerber Multi tool in my suitcase/hotel room and my trusty Calypso Jr. Lightweight (non serrated) in my pocket. Is it acceptable to walk around there with it just clipped to my pocket like always or should I put it *in* my pocket and keep it out of sight? Here`s to hoping their knife laws are cool! :) Marcus
 
The knife laws are pretty simple here actually:

- no automatics;
- no balisongs;
- no punch-daggers/push knives;
- no belt-buckle knives.

Weapons cannot be carried concealed. Knives are not automatically weapons, but are subjected to that description as the situation warrants.

For folders, if it's clipped so that it's visible it's ok. If it's small enough to fit comfortably in your pants pocket, then it's probably not going to be considered a "weapon" for the purposes of concealment.

Fixed blades should probably be worn unconcealed, unless very small.

Provincial liquor laws probably prohibit the carry of knives into bars and nightclubs. I'm not sure about Ontario.

My usual carry is:
- 2 Enduras;
- 3" fixed blade (neck knife, this one I conceal).

Optionally I carry a fixed blade on a belt sheath, like today. For bigger knives, I've carried an 8" bowie about town without incident.

IANAL, so take this with a grain of salt :)

Pierre
 
Okay so my Spydie should be okay clipped to my pocket :) cool. I forgot about my Micra (which no one but Vampire Girbil could consider a weapon) and my credit card knife. Maybe I oughta leave that one at home? Also my wife has an ASP OC spray /kuboton on her keychain,is that a no no? Thanks! Marcus
 
Originally posted by Rubber Ducky


Weapons cannot be carried concealed. Knives are not automatically weapons, but are subjected to that description as the situation warrants.

Fixed blades should probably be worn unconcealed, unless very small.

My usual carry is:

- 3" fixed blade (neck knife, this one I conceal).Pierre
Click to expand...

Hello RD,

Are you suggesting that you consider yourself above the knife laws of Canada ?

Originally posted by Rubber Ducky


Optionally I carry a fixed blade on a belt sheath, like today. For bigger knives, I've carried an 8" bowie about town without incident.
Pierre
Click to expand...

I would enjoy the listening to the discussion you have with the RCMPolice or your municipal police force trying to explain away that you need an 8" Bowie knife as a tool :)

Regards,

Leather
 
A folding knife clipped to the pocket is legal.

Not sure what a credit card knife is but it sounds like something that might be considered a concealed weapon. Best to leave that at home.

Kubatons are legal. Bear and dog repellant is legal but pepperspray designed to be used on humans is illegal-it depends how the spray is labelled. Your wife's spray sounds like a product designed for self-defence against muggers and would be considered illegal. Even if it is designed for use on dogs it would probably be a hassle trying to bring it over the border. Best for her just to take a kubaton.
 
Originally posted by Leather
Hello RD,

Are you suggesting that you consider yourself above the knife laws of Canada ?
Click to expand...


No. Concealing a knife is not necessarily illegal. The 3" necker that I conceal is a utility blade, plain and simple. It's designed that way and really serves no other purpose.


I would enjoy the listening to the discussion you have with the RCMPolice or your municipal police force trying to explain away that you need an 8" Bowie knife as a tool :)

Regards,

Leather
Click to expand...

Frankly I don't give a good goddamn what the RCMP or the local cops think of me carrying an 8" bowie around, because it's none of their business. It's NOT ILLEGAL to carry weapons in Canada if they are unconcealed.

Pierre
 
Originally posted by Rubber Ducky


No. Concealing a knife is not necessarily illegal. The 3" necker that I conceal is a utility blade, plain and simple. It's designed that way and really serves no other purpose.



Frankly I don't give a good goddamn what the RCMP or the local cops think of me carrying an 8" bowie around, because it's none of their business. It's NOT ILLEGAL to carry weapons in Canada if they are unconcealed.
Pierre [/B]
Click to expand...

Carrying a weapon is illegal in Canada ( unless licensed ).

Carrying a concealed weapon in Canada is illegal ( unless licensed ).

You would have to be able to explain 'why' an 8" bowie knife is needed as a tool. If you lived in Iqualuit, may be you could. Walking down Main Street in a city, it would be unlikely that you could. There is a good chance it would be confiscated.

The 3" fixed blade around your neck could be argued as a weapon. It is a fixed blade knife, which could be used as a weapon and as it is under your shirt it would be a concealed weapon.

Hopefully, your explanation that is actually a tool would be accepted by the local law enforcement.

You would be better off carrying an SAK or a medium sized folder clipped to your pocket.

BB
 
Nice try BB but you'll have to point out to me in the statute where carrying a weapon is illegal. It's not. It's illegal if it's for a purpose contrary to public order, but that ain't always.

Further, even an 8" bowie is not automatically a "weapon". I don't have to prove it isn't, the law has to prove it is. With my particular bowie the maker has said it'll make a good "user", which means it's no fighting knife, which means it's not designed as a weapon.

I can, and do, regularly carry this knife openly, in Vancouver - which, last time I checked, is pretty damn far from Iqualuit.

Carrying a 3" fixed blade concealed can be legal, if the blade is not designed as a weapon. The onus is again on the law to prove that I was carrying this blade for use as a weapon, not on me to prove I was not.

The answer to any LEO who would care to ask the question (and so far none have) "Why are you carrying that?" is quite simple, "because I can and I like to".

Pierre
 
Originally posted by Rubber Ducky

The answer to any LEO who would care to ask the question (and so far none have) "Why are you carrying that?" is quite simple, "because I can and I like to".
Pierre
Click to expand...

I can virtually guarantee u if an RCMP in Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, Delta or any where else in the City see you with an 8" Bowie they are going to talk to you. Depending on the officer it could be taken away. City police don't look favourably on large knives. They are not needed as a tool in the city, ipso facto, it is a weapon. How do you explain an 8" bowie as a tool in the city ? To open boxes ?

Saying "because I can and I like to" is useless. If considered a weapon by the ELO it's gone, that simple. The ELO has the discretion to make a decision. You may get it back in court, if you win and after you have paid a lawyer.

Good luck,

BB
 
That is one thing I like about liking in Saskatchewan... wide open space...

I normally carry a 4" fixed, if not 2 of them... Right Hip and Horizontal to left.

I also carry a somewhat overly large number of knives on me, but as I stated in an earlier post, I have a way of dealing with authority figures that leaves them feeling unthreatened(7 Years of Air Cadets taught me A LOT of RESPECT), and being 18 with a clear record(not even a traffic ticket) it is easy for me to do it.

I also carry a wide variey of knives, which implies I have leots of different tasks to do with them.

In fact, interesting story today...

I was biking along, and saw a cop on the usual"watching for drag racing by the high school while I eat my donut" job... and I started taking to him... I do this every so often, just start chatting with any cop I see... lets them get to know me.

anyways, the topic gets to knives(with some gentle prodding in that direction), and I ask him if he could take a look at my carry. I have nothing illegal on me, and have a clean record, so I wasn't worried. He says sure, take it out and I'll look...

Well...
Spyderco(5): Native(CE/FRN), Merlin(FRN/PE), Military(CE), Calypso jr lt(FRN/PE), Spydercard(PE)
CRKT BearClaw(PE, mirror finish)
POS MultiTool($20 in walmart)
Buck MiniTool and SwissTech Utilikey on key chain
and my MiniMag and Zippo...

Well, I ended up converting another cop over to Spyderco... He tried to flick open my knives, and had to flick damn hard on the millie and calypso jr(but he didn't know what he was doing), and otherwise was happy.

9 knives, and he was OK with it, almost happy. Everything passed the eye of the cop that has my area(yes, I've seen him around a lot)... I can only assume my entire carry would(well, maybe not my 5" boot knife)....

The laws up here are relatively easy to work with.
 
Well this thread has gotten a little off base but I figured I`d post a follow up anyway. The trip was wonderful! It was my first trip to Canada and we found the people to be polite and very friendly. It`s probably a good thing we left my wife`s ASP Defender spray/kuboton at home since customes specifically asked us if we had anything like that (although we weren`t searched). I made do with my good ol Calypso Jr.,usually just dropped in my pocket(FWIW I was looking the whole time and I didn`t see a single knife clipped to anyone`s pocket). The city is so full of tourists that I didn`t feel like a target for crime or anything so the little spydie served my purposes fine.Besides,I didn`t have an expensive digital and or video camera or anything,we don`t dress too flashy and in a crowd I`m probably in the 10% least likely to be targeted IMO due to my size, build and habit of being very aware of my surroundings at all times. Overall it was a very nice trip and we hope to go again sometime. :D Thanks for the tips guys. Marcus
 
It is true that it is rare to see people with a knife clipped to the pocket up here. I often feel uncomfortable carrying a knife clipped to the pocket because kids will ask to see it.

The crime rate is very low although most cities will have certain streets that are best to be avoided. Glad to read that you enjoyed your trip and everthing went smoothly.
 
I find after carrying Spyderco for 3 yrs, I actaully look for clips. Quite often I see them...

Most people normally end up carrying either a SAK or small in pocket, not many carry clipped to pockets up here, due to looks... but I say screw the sheeple, behave around cops.
 
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