A double fatal grizzly bear attack in Banff National Park emphasizes the need to review the ban on guns for self-defence in Canada’s national parks, a firearm rights group says.
National Parks wildlife regulations forbid firearm use in Banff, despite risks posed to hikers and campers by animals such as bears, cougars and coyotes.
The Sept. 29 deaths of campers Doug Inglis and Jenny Gusse aren’t the first and won’t be the last, according to Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights spokesperson Tracey Wilson.
“It amplifies the necessity for Canadians to be able to protect themselves against wildlife,” she says. “We have the tools and the technology to protect ourselves. We just don’t have the legal ability to do so.”
According to Wilson, things could have “absolutely” ended differently if the couple had firearms instead of bear spray, which failed to deter the bear from killing them or their dog.
While some view the national park gun ban as being about wildlife protection, Wilson noted laws against poaching and hunting already exist. If someone were to break one of these laws, Wilson argues, the government would throw the book at them.
“But to just ban the use and carry of a firearm in a national park is a danger to human life,” she says.
Inglis and Jenny Gusse, along with their border collie, were discovered by the Wildlife Human Attack response team with an empty canister of bear deterrent spray nearby.
Despite being labelled as ‘bear spray,’ Wilson says this deterrent would be more effective against a dog or a smaller animal.
“A hungry grizzly bear is not going to be stopped by bear spray,” she says. “When you’ve got a giant charging grizzly coming at you, a can of bear spray is like throwing marbles in a war.”
The Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights advocates for gun owners in an increasingly hostile regulatory climate. In May 2020, the federal government prohibited 1500 variants of what it called “military-style assault weapons,” though many of the guns on the list were used by hunters.
The government put in place a two year amnesty period, which was renewed in 2022 and again this week and now is set to lapse in 2025.
“Canadians know it’s not licensed gun owners, hunters, and trappers out there shooting up the streets of Toronto,” says Wilson.
She believes that the Conservative government, should they win the next election, would take a far more focused approach to targeting actual crime, violence, and gun smuggling instead of gun owners.
“I think you would see a total 180 on the way things are done on the public safety file. I think with the rising crime and violence across Canada, Canadians are ready for it.”
National parks are meant to preserve the land and wildlife within them. However, if humans are allowed to enter these areas, Wilson says, “it only makes sense to me that they should have the ability to protect their own lives should they find themselves in that unfortunate circumstance.”
The prohibition doesn’t apply to superintendents, park wardens, or peace officers, which Wilson suggests is a recognition by the government that firearms serve an important purpose.
“Self-defence against wildlife in remote situations should be a right for every Canadian.”
