Canada Comes to its Senses

[Bill Mattocks]

Canada has finally decided that citizens are allowed to defend themselves. Nice work!

http://www.timescolonist.com/Citizen+arrest+takes+effect+today/6853769/story.html

Citizen's arrest law takes effect today

THE CANADIAN PRESS JUNE 28, 2012

A law expanding the power of Canadians to make a citizen's arrest and streamlining self-defence provisions is set to take effect, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said Wednesday.

Among other things, the legislation no longer requires a person to catch a suspect red-handed, but allows for the apprehension within a reasonable amount of time after a crime has been committed.

"Victims of crime should not be revictimized by the criminal justice system when they attempt to protect their property," Nicholson said.

Nicholson, who said the law would receive royal assent today, made his comments in Toronto's Chinatown, steps from the Lucky Moose food mart as its owner, David Chen, looked on.

Chen made headlines in 2009 when he chased down and held a repeat shoplifter, only to find himself arrested and charged.

Although he was later acquitted, the case sparked public outrage, even drawing the attention of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

 

[oftheherd1]

Canada has finally decided that citizens are allowed to defend themselves. Nice work!

Among other things, the legislation no longer requires a person to catch a suspect red-handed, but allows for the apprehension within a reasonable amount of time after a crime has been committed.

I hope the law there defines that better than the reporting. Otherwise there are likely to be some strong tests of that in the Canadian courts.

Of course I don't know that since I don't know the legal system there. It is often interesting to note differences in culture and their provisions of law because of it. Many people cannot understand our laws in the USA, because their culture requires laws that are often radically different.

Guns are a good example. They were important to us in our prehistory, when people had to fend for themselves or be 'fended' against. Our founding fathers obviously felt gun possession was important to having a militia handy, and for citizens to be able to defend themselves against tyrany of their governments. We haven't completely given up on the idea of people having guns. Many countries think us mad for that. But it is still a part of cultural history.

I hope this extension of citizen arrest power works out well for Canadian citizens. It will be interesting to see what some of our Canadian brothers and sisters think of this.

 

[Scott T]

I'm all for it, although in serious cases I'm also for beating the perp with a tire iron and leaving his broken body off an abandoned logging road.