If politicians on the so-called progressive left want to understand why Mr. and Mrs. Front Porch frequently lose faith in our justice system, they need to consider how it responds when an individual tries to defend their home or business from being invaded by a burglar or other stranger.
Two recent cases underline the point.
Last month, a Peterborough jury decided that a convenience store clerk was only defending himself when a masked man entered the store with a baseball bat, intending to rob the place. The clerk, a 22-year-old international student from India, was hit several times by the bat. He was able to wrestle it away from the thief and strike him with it, causing significant head trauma.
Both the young man and the thief were charged. While the thief was convicted and sentenced to jail time, the young man’s legal troubles dragged on through the court for two years before the jury decision, causing much emotional stress, not to mention hefty legal bills.
In August, last year, a Lindsay man defended himself by stabbing an intruder who broke into his home while he was sleeping. The intruder was armed with a cross bow.
Both were arrested, but after several months, the crown attorney in this case, finally decided not to pursue further action against the homeowner.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, never one to ignore an opportunity to connect with the pulse of the public, responded by saying “if you break into someone’s home, you need to pay the price…anyone breaks into my home, it’s going to be a bad day for them.”
Mr. and Mrs. Front Porch would heartily agree.
Police are, quite rightly, concerned about so-called vigilante justice. But the law they are sworn to uphold needs a serious rethink.
Normal, every-day citizens, are not trained to respond to potential or actual violence where their own well-being or the well-being of their families or loved ones may be at risk. Nor do they possess the judgement that comes from the experience of facing such situations on a regular basis as our first responders do.
Yet the Criminal Code asks a potential attack victim to decide what might be considered reasonable under the circumstances, at the time. To make that judgement, the victim is supposed to consider “the size, age, gender and physical capabilities” of the attacker and whether the use of force by the attacker was “imminent and whether there were other means available to (the victim to) respond to the potential use of force” by the attacker.
Really?
In what may be literally seconds, an untrained person is supposed to rationally assess the circumstances and make a judgement as to what may or may not be considered a reasonable response, by others, after the fact. It is an unreasonable expectation.
As the Peterborough victim said, “I saw it as defending myself…I was afraid for my life.” Indeed.
If an individual decides to invade someone else’s home or place of business to commit a crime, it is that individual who should face the risk of the consequences, not the victim.
It should be noted that juries often side with the victim in such circumstances. But only after a lengthy and expensive legal process. There has to be a better way. It is time for a legal re-write.
Janet Ecker is a former Ontario Finance Minister, Minister of Education, Minister of Community and Social Services and Government House Leader in the governments of Premier Mike Harris and Premier Ernie Eves. After her political career, she served as the founding CEO of the Toronto Financial Services Alliance, a public-private partnership dedicated to building Toronto region into an international financial centre. She currently sits on a number of corporate and non-profit boards, agencies and advisory committees.
Ms. Ecker received the Order of Canada for her public service contributions and was recognized as one of the “Most Influential People in the World’s Financial Centres” by Financial Centres International. She also received a “Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award” from the Women’s Executive Network and the Richard Ivey School of Business, among other awards. She is also one of the founders of Equal Voice, a national, multi-partisan organization working to elect more women.
