Robson Crim Legal Blog

In 2016, the ability for rural Canadian property owners to defend themselves and their property came into public debate through the tragedy that was the death of Colton Boushie in Saskatchewan. While the issue of racism played one role in the trial, a second debate over the right of rural property owners to defend themselves and property was of significant interest, although self-defence was not officially made an issue at trial.

R v Ross deals with the complexities of Canadian self-defence laws. The facts of the case showed that on April 27, 2019, Ross became involved in an altercation with the three complainants. According to the evidence, at some point during the altercation, the accused stabbed all three complainants. The accused was subsequently charged with three counts of aggravated assault.

Consider the following scenario: a homeowner, K, approaches his truck, parked on his driveway, and sees a man, S, leaning in through the open passenger door, rifling through the truck’s contents. K raises his lawfully owned shotgun and calls out, “Hey, hands up!” S turns, and K, believing that S is holding a gun, fires twice killing S. Could K successfully claim self-defence?

Topic Overview As an accused, choosing whether to elect the criminal law defense of necessity, duress, or self defence has been somewhat...

When Code provisions come under to scrutiny and become subject to or warrant change, the familiar debate between broad standards and more...