moved for leave to introduce Bill C-270, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (defence of person).
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to introduce the stand on guard act, my very first bill in the House.
Our homes are supposed to be the one place where we can rest and feel safe, but across Canada, home invasions are rising, and too many families are living with fear inside their own homes.
We have all walked through the house at night checking the doors, listening for a creak in the hallway, but for too many Canadians, that fear becomes real when intruders break into their homes. When homeowners defend themselves and their families, they can end up being treated like criminals, taken away by police and forced into costly legal battles just to prove they acted in self-defence. That is not right.
The stand on guard act would strengthen Canada's self-defence laws. It would create a clear presumption that when someone knowingly and unlawfully enters a home, the force used based on what a person believes at that moment to be reasonably necessary to defend themselves and their family is considered reasonable, unless the facts show otherwise, because their home should be their safe place, not the place where the law turns against them for protecting the people they love.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)