Mr. Speaker, I want to provide a bit of background before I ask my question.
On May 23, 2009, David Chen, the owner of the Lucky Moose Food Mart in Toronto, apprehended Anthony Bennett, who stole from the store. After Bennett was initially caught on security footage stealing from the store, he returned to the store an hour later, at which time Chen, the owner, and two employees tied the man up and locked him up in the back of a delivery van.
When the police arrived, they charged Chen with kidnapping and carrying a dangerous weapon—which was a box cutter that most grocery store workers would normally have on their persons—assault and forcible confinement. The crown prosecutors later dropped the kidnapping and weapons charges, but proceeded with the charges of forcible confinement and assault.
According to the Criminal Code as it is currently written, a property owner can only make a citizen's arrest if the alleged wrongdoer is caught in the act. Chen and his two co-accused were found not guilty of the charges of forcible confinement and assault in October 2010. Anthony Bennett pleaded guilty in August 2009 to stealing from the store and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.
This bill seeks to clarify sections of the Criminal Code pertaining to self-defence and defence of property. After careful review of the bill and after hearing from expert witnesses at committee, it was determined that the changes do in fact provide legislation—