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Self Defence in Canada (split from Gun Control 2.0)

I'm of a couple of minds regarding the proliferation of home invasions in the GTA. On one hand, they could simply be random criminals doing untargetted invasions, but there are a lot of ethnic enclaves in Toronto's suburbia and I wouldn't rule out ethnic organized crime, either going after their own community, a rival community or trying to exercise control over a particular turf.

Don't forget about Climate Change driving people to commit crime. That's why our carbon tax and switching to EV is so important. It will prevent crime where it starts.
 
I suspect that since it has been rattling around since February, a Crown Brief has been assembled and forwarded to the Crown (local, regional or MAG in Toronto) and it is sitting there. Whether it is in a pile in an in-tray or being assessed for a carefully crafted response (one way or the other) who knows. Whoever makes the ultimate decision owns it.

Police in Ontario do not have to seek Crown approval to lay charges but it absolutely does happen in complex, high-profile or sensitive cases.

I doubt the MAG would ever issue definitive, prescriptive or proscriptive guidelines to its Crowns. They want to maintain prosecutorial discretion and do not want to own a decision.

*****

I'm of a couple of minds regarding the proliferation of home invasions in the GTA. On one hand, they could simply be random criminals doing untargetted invasions, but there are a lot of ethnic enclaves in Toronto's suburbia and I wouldn't rule out ethnic organized crime, either going after their own community, a rival community or trying to exercise control over a particular turf. Certain cultural communities are known to favour large amounts of jewelry or cash. Not a lot of home invasions in farm country.
There a more than a few farmers in Western Canada that would like to talk to you about your theory that home invasions only happen in urban areas…
 
Someone with better legal knowledge than me will have to get involved here but the provincial Attorney Generals generally cannot directly interfere with a Crown Prosecutor's decisions, as Crown prosecutors operate and are guided by legal duties, not political directives. While the AG is the ultimate head of the Crown's office, the day-to-day prosecution of cases is handled independently to ensure fair and impartial justice and the AG cannot be seen as interfering politically in cases. I think you are possibly thinking more of what is seen in the states but I have no confidence in any of this answer. It’s not my thing. Hopefully a smarter person can correct me- provincial AG in Canada is arms length.
I remember a certain PM and AG having a falling out when said PM tried to instruct said AG in how to prosecute files. Many people here, myself included, didn’t think that was cool.
 
I remember a certain PM and AG having a falling out when said PM tried to instruct said AG in how to prosecute files. Many people here, myself included, didn’t think that was cool.
But that isn’t the case here.

Nobody is advocating having a Premier ORDER an AG or an AG ORDERING a Crown Attorney.

However there is no reason why the three parties can't sit down to a round table and discuss a way forward on the problem.
 
Ford wants Castle Law. I don't think there is much to do about that, when it comes to the Criminal Code. However, given the above and that the provincial AG has jurisdiction, the AG can just tell his Crown Attorney's not to charge homeowners who stand their ground and injure or kill a criminal invader. The AG is appointed by the Lt Gov on the advice of the Premier. I'm sure Ford and Downey (ON AG) could come to some arrangement that wouldn’t result in charges to a homeowner.

I see the confusion from my statement. The AG telling a Crown to stand down would be interference and shouldn’t happen. I mispoke when I typed this response. However, again, I see no reason discussions can't be held and a way forward found that benefits the province.
 
I think the AG can offer advice to the CA's that self-defense in Canada legally exists and should not be viewed unfavourably and people who use that right should not be subject to lawfare. To believe the CA's have not in the past being motived by politics and by social views to impose behaviours on people that are not normally subject to the legal system by the threat of process and the ability to fiscally destroy someone, even if the individual may eventually win.

Oddly the system is more of a threat to people that rarely cross it, than to those that encounter it on a regular basis.
 
There a more than a few farmers in Western Canada that would like to talk to you about your theory that home invasions only happen in urban areas…
I understand that there are rural property invasions, thefts, etc. but are they plagued with actual 'home' invasions? I suspect that using force to defend your dwelling house and the family within it will be looked on more favourably than using force to stop someone from stealing your tractor. I'm not diminishing the impact of rural crime, but it is probably apples to a home invasion oranges.

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To clarify my earlier comments, when I mentioned 'MAG', I meant the Ministry, not the Minister. There are a number of layers between a local Crown Attorney and the Minister, and it would be inappropriate under our system for the political minister, who may or may not be a lawyer, to interfere with prosecutorial discretion.

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An article from a former boss:

 
From the CSSA PR team. I agree that tracking this trend is important.

On September 1, 2025, in the quiet suburbs of Vaughan, Ontario, Abdul Aleem Farooqi, a 46-year-old father of four, gave his life to protect his children.https://4atxtpxab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp...Hejp00nurq8MJF2lzSSJi4NMnega_mkstqgzzpqiUKg==

When Farooqi dared stand between his children and the men who came to terrorize them, the intruders murdered him.

Farooqi’s brother called him a "hero," but to the rest of Canada, he's a stark reminder of how the rash of home invasions shatter our illusion of safety inside our own homes.

Just days earlier, in Markham, a woman was kidnapped while driving, and her residence was invaded, leaving a 54-year-old man shot in the chaos.[ii]

These aren't isolated horrors; they're part of a wave sweeping across Canada.

In the last six months, headlines have screamed about the escalating violence.


  • Peel Police arrested an organized crime ring behind 17 brutal invasions affecting over 60 victims including nine children.[iii]

  • Toronto Police Service data shows 131 home-invasion robberies were reported by August 2025, already surpassing pre-2024 annual totals.[iv]

  • A Brampton man was shot in his bed. His wife vows her family "can't stay here anymore."[v]

  • Arrests of 12 suspects in a spree netting $1.8 million in stolen luxury goods.[vi]
  • York Regional Police noted an alarming 11-home-invasion cluster in early 2025 alone.[vii]

  • Toronto police report a 105% year-over-year surge in total invasions, even as car-theft-linked home invasions dip slightly, signalling a terrifying pivot to direct, personal terror.[viii]

Families are installing fortified window films and debating self-defence laws, and federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre demands Criminal Code reforms to protect homeowners who fight back.[ix]

York Police Chief Jim MacSween's advice to "hide and comply" has ignited a furious backlash from citizens who fear for their safety and know police cannot arrive in time to save them.[x]

Yet, for all the media frenzy, one glaring truth emerges.

We have no idea how bad the Home Invasion Crisis really is.

Why not?

Because home invasions aren’t tracked by police or Statistics Canada. Statistics Canada only tracks crimes explicitly listed in the Criminal Code.

Home invasions don’t exist as a distinct category in our national Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) system.

Since “home invasion” appears only as an aggravating factor under section 348.1 (a subset of breaking and entering), police shuffle these crimes into vague buckets—assaults, thefts, break and enters.

The result? A national blindness to one of the most terrifying crimes a family can endure.[xi]

Without accurate data, we’re left to guess.

Is the crisis spreading across Canada, or is it confined to the GTA?

Are fatalities climbing?

Is this now random violence or only “targeted” attacks as police often insist?

We can’t answer those questions, not because the answers don’t exist, but because the data doesn’t exist.

Auto thefts—now a standalone Criminal Code offence since 2010—were curbed through targeted policing and tech like GPS trackers, so criminals are adapting.

Organized networks, once focused on joyrides and stealing cars, appear to be shifting to "easier" targets, like invading homes, beating occupants, and stealing whatever they can: car keys, money, bank account PINs, and anything else of value.

Recent home invasions left victims with severed tendons from machetes, hammer assaults, and, in Farooqi's case, the death of a loving husband and father.[xii]

Police often downplay incidents as "targeted" to soothe the public’s fears, but what if they're not targeted?

What if those home invasions are actually random, as the Farooqi case suggests?

Without accurate statistical reporting, it’s impossible to know the answer.

Trend data would reveal if the severity of home invasions is escalating.

Local police forces aren't coding "home invasion" distinctly, so only the most horrific examples are reported in the media.

Imagine the policy goldmine that real data on "home invasions" could deliver.

  • Since invasions have spiked 105% in Toronto, what happened in other major cities?
  • Are home invasions primarily an urban issue?
  • Or do they happen in rural areas too?
  • Is there a common denominator to motives?


The answers to these questions would help policymakers tackle the problem effectively.

Armed with facts, we could allocate police resources to high-risk areas, bolster bail reforms (as York Police urges after the Farooqi murder), or amend the Code to make home invasion a standalone offence, mirroring auto theft's evolution.

What’s clear is that the Justice Department and federal government must act.

They must instruct Statistics Canada to issue UCR codes for home invasions or introduce legislation elevating it to a reportable crime.

Suggested categories—entry with intent, weapon use, occupant harm, and targeting—would provide nuance without overhauling the system.

This isn't about fearmongering. It's about basing policy on facts, not fear.​


Canadians once believed their homes were castles, safe from violation. That illusion is being burned to the ground.

Families like Farooqi’s deserve more than vigils and hashtags. They deserve prevention options grounded in reality, not guesswork.

Until we demand the truth, we are groping in the dark while criminals kick in the door.[xiii]

Without it, we're just guessing in the dark while criminals kick in the door.
 
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