Sunday, March 22, 2026
ADVT 
National

Poilievre wants 'reasonable' self-defence defined in Criminal Code

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 29 Aug, 2025 08:50 AM
  • Poilievre wants 'reasonable' self-defence defined in Criminal Code

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre wants the government to amend the Criminal Code to say that the use of force is presumed to be reasonable to defend your home is someone breaks into it.

He says if the government doesn't do this, his party will introduce a private member's bill aimed at making the change this fall during a press conference in Brampton, Ont..

This comes after a 44-year-old Lindsay, Ont. man was charged with assault in an altercation after a man with a crossbow allegedly broke into his apartment.

The alleged intruder, a 41-year-old man also from Lindsay, was airlifted to hospital in Toronto with life-threatening injuries.

The chief of the Kawartha Lakes Police Service has defended the assault charge against the victim of the alleged break-in, saying defensive action must be proportionate to the threat faced.

The Criminal Code says that someone is allowed to protect themselves in a break-in as long as force used is "reasonable in the circumstances."

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

MORE National ARTICLES

Electric vehicle rebates paused as federal program runs out of money

Electric vehicle rebates paused as federal program runs out of money
The federal government has paused an incentive program that offered Canadians rebates of up to $5,000 when buying or leasing electric vehicles. In an update on its website, Transport Canada says the Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV) Program has been paused as "funds have been fully committed."

Electric vehicle rebates paused as federal program runs out of money

Environmentalists claim 'setback' for species protection in B.C. port expansion case

Environmentalists claim 'setback' for species protection in B.C. port expansion case
The David Suzuki Foundation, the Georgia Strait Alliance, the Raincoast Conservation Foundation and the Western Canada Wilderness Committee filed a legal challenge last June against the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project in Delta, B.C.

Environmentalists claim 'setback' for species protection in B.C. port expansion case

Elections BC hasn't called in RCMP as Conservatives seek police probe of Surrey race

Elections BC hasn't called in RCMP as Conservatives seek police probe of Surrey race
Elections BC says it hasn't asked the RCMP to investigate a complaint from the B.C. Conservatives about alleged "voting irregularities" in the October provincial election, despite a call from the party for police to get involved.

Elections BC hasn't called in RCMP as Conservatives seek police probe of Surrey race

Dozens of Canadian firefighters head to California to help in fire fight

Dozens of Canadian firefighters head to California to help in fire fight
A statement from the B.C. Ministry of Forests says a team of 22 crew members and one agency representative left for Los Angeles on Monday and are in addition to a dozen technical specialists who arrived in Los Angeles on the weekend. 

Dozens of Canadian firefighters head to California to help in fire fight

B.C. starvation death inquest hears victim's emaciated state, poor living conditions

B.C. starvation death inquest hears victim's emaciated state, poor living conditions
Florence Girard was so small when she died that she "looked like a child" in her casket, her sister told a British Columbia coroner's inquest into the death of the woman. Girard died in 2018 weighing only about 50 pounds, and Astrid Dahl, who was caring for Girard as part of a program for people with developmental disabilities, was convicted in 2022 of failing to provide the necessities of life in the case.

B.C. starvation death inquest hears victim's emaciated state, poor living conditions

Freeland to announce Liberal leadership bid within the next week

Freeland to announce Liberal leadership bid within the next week
Freeland's first policy promise will be to impose dollar-for-dollar tariffs on U.S. imports to match the cost of tariffs U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has vowed to impose on Canada. Trump has promised to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico on Jan. 20, the day he is inaugurated.

Freeland to announce Liberal leadership bid within the next week