Amazon agrees to province's request to halt sales of machetes to Manitobans
Justice minister says he hopes other online retailers follow suit
Online retail outlet Amazon said Tuesday it has halted all shipments of machetes and other long-bladed weapons to Manitoba addresses.
The move came after the Manitoba government enacted new rules in December to limit in-store sales of such items to minors, after a series of assaults involving machetes.
The new law requires retail outlets in the province to only sell long-bladed instruments to people with photo ID that can prove they are adults. Retailers are also required to keep the instruments out of reach of the general public and to keep sales records for two years.
There are several exemptions to the law, including hedge trimmers, pruning shears and any type of saw.
While the legislation doesn't apply to online sales, Justice Minister Matt Wiebe wrote to some online retailers shortly after the law passed to ask them to follow its intent.
Some retailers, such as Canadian Tire and Cabela's (now branded as Bass Pro Shops), agreed, while others, such as Amazon and Walmart Canada, didn't initially respond to Manitoba's letters.
Wiebe said Tuesday he was glad to see Amazon follow through.
A spokesperson for the company confirmed it is going further than Manitoba's ask by restricting shipments of long-bladed weapons to all Manitoba addresses, even if the buyer is an adult.
"In my mind, this is probably the best-case scenario because it's keeping these [items] off of our streets," Wiebe said.
Amazon agreed to stop selling machetes one week after CBC News reported the online giant and Walmart had, to that point, ignored the province's requests to restrict online sales.
On Tuesday, Wiebe said he is still hoping other online retailers will follow suit.
"We're going to be working with other online retailers and we expect that there's going to be further compliance."
Machetes have been used in many assaults and robberies in recent years in Manitoba. Last week, a man was stabbed in a machete attack near a Winnipeg convenience store. Police say they used tourniquets on the victim, who was taken to hospital and underwent surgery.
Wiebe said the NDP government is considering ways to get more existing machetes off the streets and is in talks with the federal government. He pointed to England, where owning or selling a machete or serrated long-blade knife is prohibited under a recent law.
The Opposition Progressive Conservatives said they welcomed the change by Amazon.
"It is a success and it's unfortunate that it took so long for this to come to fruition," Tory justice critic Wayne Balcaen said.
With files from CBC's Ian Froese