New law for self-defence and defence of property

BURNABY, BC, April 12, 2013 (Press-News.org) New Citizen's Arrest and Self-defence Act is in effect as of Monday, March 11, 2013. It introduces a new concept to the law in Canada: arrest within a reasonable time. It also aims to simplify the self-defence sections, which have given rise to some of the most mind-bending legal reasoning in Canadian law.

Prior to these amendments, the law of self-defence was a tangled bramble bush of special considerations, such as whether the accused provoked the attack, or reasonably believed his or her life was in danger, and whether the use of force was no more than necessary. This language has been greatly simplified to consider whether the accused's actions were "reasonable in the circumstances."

The words defining self-defence might be simpler, but the interpretation and application of those words might prove to be just as difficult as the previous bramble bush. Time will tell.

Until now, any private citizen had the power to arrest someone caught in the act of committing a crime in relation to the private citizen's property, but there was no power to do so after the fact.

In recent years some cases attracted a lot of attention because of this law. In 2009, a Toronto storeowner pursued a shoplifter, chasing him down the street to arrest him, and was himself charged with assault and forcible confinement. Although we have yet to see how the courts will interpret "arrest within a reasonable time," likely that storeowner would not have been charged under the new law.

We could expect that a "reasonable time" will be longer in more remote locations, where the police response time might be expected to be longer.

Which law applies to cases that are already before the courts is a matter for the lawyers to work out.

Ann Pollak is a criminal defence lawyer in Burnaby who represents clients in Peace Country and Yukon. www.northerndefencelaw.com

I maintain an office in Burnaby, but regularly represent clients in Northern British Columbia and the Yukon, bringing my experience and dedication to them in their own communities.