Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on the federal government to amend the Criminal Code so that use of force is presumed reasonable when used against a person who illegally enters a house and poses a threat to people inside.
“After 10 years of Liberals, the system treats victims like criminals and criminals like victims,” Poilievre said during a press conference outside a private residence in Brampton, Ont.
Under current law, Canadians are not guilty of an offence if they believe on reasonable grounds that force (or the threat of force) is being used against them or another person.
Their act of defence must also be for the purpose of defending or protecting themselves and must be reasonable in the circumstances.
In determining whether the act of defence is “reasonable,” courts consider nine factors — including the nature of the threat, the physical capabilities of the parties to the incident, the history of the parties to the incident and whether any party used or threatened weapons.
The Conservative leader said Canadians who are defending their homes “don’t have time to think about nine conditions” and it’s wrong for the law to apply “a complicated, indecipherable legal doctrine when you were only doing what is right.”
Poilievre also said the federal government can implement his “Stand on Guard” principle or else a Conservative MP will push the idea forward in a private member’s bill.
More to come
