Saskatoon City Council has voted to implement the Safe Public Spaces Act.

The Act, also called the Street Weapons Act, was passed by the Province on August 1st to allow police officers to more easily regulate the possession of street weapons.

These can include knives 30 cm or larger, swords, machetes, explosives, hypodermic needles, bear spray, fentanyl and meth, among other things.

Under the Act, people are prohibited from possessing street weapons in public urban spaces such as public buildings, parks, and playgrounds. Police will now be allowed to seize and impound those weapons.

The Act requires individual municipalities to opt into the Act by bylaw, and a municipality that wishes to withdraw can do so by repealing the opt in bylaw at any time.

The Saskatoon Police Service had asked the City to opt in, and that request was unanimously approved at Wednesday’s city council meeting.

Council also agreed to apply for the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency’s Provincial Disaster Assistance Program. If the request is approved, the program would provide financial assistance for restoring services and property as a result of substantial damages caused by excessive rain which occurred on August 8. The City of Melville has applied for support through the same program following the same weather event.