MP for Westlock – St. Paul Brian Storseth announced last week he is pushing the government to reintroduce Bill C-60, the citizen's arrest and self-defence act, and has started a petition for constituents to sign in support of the bill.
The bill would revise the Criminal Code of Canada to expand circumstances where citizens can arrest someone committing a crime on their property. The bill seeks to revise laws under the code to more clearly determine if an individual's actions to protect themselves, others or their property were reasonable and justified.
Storseth explained the bill also codifies the idea that before laying charges, police need to consider situations had they been victims of crime.
The bill made it to second reading March 22, but was tabled when Parliament dissolved March 26.
“I'm just trying to put the pressure on the government to make sure that it gets re-tabled and hopefully relatively quickly,” Storseth told the Nouvelle.
“I believe it's very important legislation that codifies our rights as citizens and helps prevent some of the frivolous charges that are laid against victims in these cases and then at the end of the day, once the charges are already laid, even if they're dropped a year later as was the case with Mr. Singleton and many others, they've already went through the court process for a year at a great expense to themselves and it's damaged their own reputation.”
Storseth referenced the case of Joseph Singleton of Taber, who was charged with assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm for hitting an intruder on his property with a hatchet in May, 2010. The charges were dropped last month.
Storseth also noted the case of David Chen, a grocer in Toronto's Chinatown, who was charged with assault and forcible confinement along with two of his employees, after they chased and tied up a man who stole from them, waiting for police to arrive. The charges were later dismissed.
Storseth believes law-abiding citizens are re-victimized under the current system.
“Even if the charges are dropped a year later, these people are already victimized and at a great expense to themselves,” he said.
“I believe that this legislation would've helped to codify our rights and help limit the number of times this would've happened by allowing police officers to, before they press charges, to have to look at it through the lens if it would've been them who'd encountered this criminal breaking into their property or attacking their persons or someone that they love.”
Storseth has also started a petition to present to Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews in support of re-tabling the bill. The petition will be available on Storseth's website and it will be circulated throughout the community for constituents to sign.
Storseth noted how successful a petition he circulated was a few years back and how it strengthened the minister's position on the issue.
“That really does have an impact when the minister looks at it and sees all these names. They're like, ‘wow, so (it's) obviously something that has the support of Canadians.'”
Storseth also hopes to receive support from the other political parties.
“At the end of the day, I know there's always left-wing lawyers that like to argue the constitutional side on some of these things, but really, I think this is a part of a criminal justice package that should be re-tabled because I think it's common sense and it's the right thing to do. We need to know as Canadians what our rights are when it comes to these kinds of issues.”
