Legal problems of pocket knives in Canada

When you imagine a knife, you think of the knives in your kitchen, the knives you use for everyday tools, and other times you think of them as deadly weapons. Knives are very useful tools and we need them on a daily basis. Whether you are a cook, a hunter, a fisherman, or just need to open a box or cut a piece of rope, knives are very popular tools. However, despite the fact that they are considered useful tools, the Canadian government believes that laws are still needed to regulate the types of knives that Canadians can own. In Canada, some knives are illegal regardless of what they are used for. If you live in Canada, how do you know the difference between a knife that is legal and one that is illegal? It depends on the Canadian federal laws, the local Canadian police department and the local provincial laws.

The Criminal Code of Canada, section 84 covers laws relating to illegal knives. The article defines a weapon as any object designed to be used to cause death or injury to any person or anything designed to be used for the purpose of threatening or intimidating any person. By this definition, a butter knife could be considered a weapon. However, having a knife on your person does not make it illegal. Under the law, a person with a knife must intend to use the knife as a weapon. That said, you can’t ignore the fact that any pocket knife can be threatening and can cause serious injury.

The types of knives that are restricted in Canada are self-opening knives. An example would be a knife. Switch knives are folding knives that have their blade under spring tension. Some switchblades open to the side and others extend to the front. The blades of these knives are rapidly deployed by pressing a button to release the tension on the spring which rapidly extends the blade. These knives are hard to justify as tools. How often would you buy a switch blade just to cut rope or open boxes? These knives were primarily designed to be weapons.

Other knives prohibited by Canadian law include knives that open automatically by gravity or centrifugal force. To determine if a knife falls under this law, the police will try to free the blade from the handle with one hand. If the blade comes off, the knife is considered an illegal weapon. The problem with this law is that most modern pocket knives are designed to be opened with one hand. Manufacturers like Gerber, SOG, and Kershaw make a large number of pocket knives that can be easily opened with one hand. So are these knives illegal in Canada? According to the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA), the following list of knife types are considered prohibited:

• Automatic knives like pocket knives
• Centrifugal blades such as razors or butterfly knives;
• gravity knives;
• Constant Companion (Belt Buckle Knife)
• Finger rings with blades or other sharp objects protruding from the surface;
• push daggers;
• spiked wristbands;

According to the CBSA list, normal pocket knives do not fall into any of these categories. Determining if a knife is illegal in Canada comes down to common sense. If your knife is handy for camping, hunting, or just cutting rope, then it’s legal. But if the same knife is used to harm another person, then it is a weapon. When a knife is used to harm another person, a prosecutor may argue that a small knife is a dangerous weapon since it was used to harm someone. Therefore, a knife of any kind can become a problem even if it is used in self-defense.