Walmart Canada is pulling machetes and similar long-bladed weapons from its shelves and online platform nationwide, a response triggered by a Manitoba law banning in-store sales to minors. The retailer’s decision goes beyond the provincial regulation, which took effect last year, and follows a call from Manitoba Justice Minister Matt Wiebe for major retailers like Walmart and Amazon to embrace the law’s underlying purpose.
Amazon took its own step earlier this week, halting deliveries of such weapons to any Manitoba address, even for adult buyers. Walmart, however, has chosen a blanket approach, eliminating these items from its entire Canadian operation.
The policy shift coincides with heightened public attention to machete attacks, including a severe incident last year near a Winnipeg convenience store that required surgical intervention for the victim, and a recent assault in Ajax, Ontario, last month that left a man clinging to life.