Self‑defence and Castle Doctrine

AI summary

The petitioners, who identify as Canadian citizens, say property crimes and crimes against persons have risen and cite recent cases where victims were allegedly charged after defending themselves. They ask the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General to amend Criminal Code sections 34 and 35 to remove references to “reasonable” and to allow “any means necessary, including lethal force,” and to enshrine a Castle Doctrine protecting use of force in one’s home; the petition contains no government response.

AI summaries describe petitioners’ requests and claims. Consult the official record for the full text.

Official petition

PETITION TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS IN PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, draw the attention of the House of Commons to the following: Whereas: Property crimes and crimes against persons have been on the rise in Canada for the past decade; Recent news from across the country where victims of crime are being criminally charged for simply defending themselves proves that Canadians do not have the right to self-defence; Canadians are deprived of their right to self-defence due to the limitations in section 34 and 35 of the Criminal Code which only permits the use of force to defend themselves under a vague and unjust criterion of "reasonable grounds", which does not fully protect victims of crime from legal prosecution by the Crown, and a clear infringement to the universal human right to self-defence under the UDHR; Victims of crime must necessitate the use of self-defence immediately when violent offenders commit crime in rural communities due to the delayed response time from law enforcement; and Canadian are deprived of their right to self-defence to protect their property due to the absence of the concept of inviolability of one's home, also known as "Castle Doctrine" in the Criminal Code. Therefore we, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, call upon the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of Canada to: Immediately introduce and pass legislation that will repeal and replace wording in section 34 and 35 of the Criminal Code by removing any mentions of "reasonable" or "reasonable grounds", and replace it with the phrase, “by any means necessary including the use of lethal force"; and Amend section 35 of the Criminal Code to enshrine the fundamental right to the inviolability of one's home, also known as "Castle Doctrine," that will allow victims of crime to use any means necessary including the use of lethal force, to defend themselves and their property against a violent offender, free from fear of any legal prosecution by the Crown.

Government response

No government response is available yet.