COLUMN: Think Again – Your home should be your castle

Imagine waking up at 3 a.m. to find out that an armed intruder is in your house. What would you do?

If you are like most people, you would take whatever steps are necessary to neutralize the intruder and protect your family. When your heart is racing and your adrenaline is pumping, you don’t have time to calculate the precise amount of force needed to stop the intruder. Rather, you do whatever you need to do to make sure your family is safe.

Unfortunately, far too many Canadians have been charged by police for defending themselves in their own homes. The most recent case is Jeremy McDonald, a Lindsay, Ont. man who was charged with aggravated assault for injuring an intruder armed with a crossbow. The intruder has a lengthy criminal record and seven separate criminal cases pending against him.

It’s outrageous that anyone would be criminally charged for defending himself in his own home. While it’s unlikely that any jury will convict McDonald, the process itself is the punishment. McDonald will likely need to spend exorbitant sums on lawyers, put his life on hold for months on end, and go through enormous personal stress. He shouldn’t have to go through this ordeal.

The good news is that Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is proposing to strengthen our right to self-defence in the law. Instead of the complicated set of nine factors currently used to determine the reasonableness of force, Poilievre wants the law to explicitly recognize that the use of force, including lethal force, is automatically presumed to be reasonable when defending yourself against a home invader.

It comes as little surprise that Liberal cabinet ministers were quick to cast aspersions on Poilievre’s proposal. For example, Justice Minister Sean Fraser posted on social media, “This isn’t the Wild West. It’s Canada.” However, the notion that guaranteeing the right to protect one’s home is the “Wild West” is a stark reminder of how detached the Liberals are from reality.

In fact, if anyone is turning Canada into the Wild West, it’s the Liberals. They’re the party that has turned bail laws into a joke and made our justice system a revolving door. Add to this their ongoing support for supervised injection sites, their decision to scrap a host of mandatory minimum sentences, and their ongoing harassment of law-abiding gun owners. The legal reforms Poilievre is promoting are what we need to get us out of the Wild West that the Liberals have created.

Critics worry that Poilievre’s proposal will lead to home invaders being seriously injured or even killed. However, there’s an easy way to avoid this risk—don’t break into homes. I’m sorry, but I have absolutely no sympathy for anyone who breaks into someone’s home at night. These criminals deserve whatever happens to them.

When explaining his proposal, Poilievre used the phrase “Your home is your castle.” This phrase originated in 17th century England and essentially means that people have the right to be safe and secure in their own homes. No one has the right to enter unless the owner gives permission. If someone does enter without permission, the owner may whatever force is necessary to expel the intruder.

Canadians are sick and tired of seeing criminals handled with kid gloves. Instead of worrying about home invaders getting hurt when homeowners use force to defend themselves, let’s focus instead on protecting the rights of law-abiding Canadians. If you break into someone’s house, you deserve whatever happens to you.

Everyone has the right to be safe and secure in their own home. Your home should be your castle.

Michael Zwaagstra is a teacher and deputy mayor of Steinbach. He can be reached at mzwaagstra@shaw.ca.