Sudbury letter: No prime minister, Canadians can have firearms to protect themselves

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In a recent interview, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau remarked that in Canada, firearms are never to be used in the defense of a person’s life and that Canadians have no right to self-defense with a firearm.

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There are so many things wrong with this statement that one begins to wonder where to begin. Or perhaps, it would be more appropriate to wonder as to the color of the sky in Trudeau’s particular parallel universe.

Still another possibility is that he is so consumed with making splashy pronouncements devoid of facts to impress his base that he once again has put his foot in his mouth without having any knowledge as to what he is talking about.

To start, Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms allows for self-defense. The Charter states:

“Security of the person includes a person’s right to control his / her own bodily integrity. It will be engaged where the state interferes with personal autonomy and a person’s ability to control his or her own physical or psychological integrity, for example by prohibiting assisted suicide or regulating abortion or imposing unwanted medical treatment (R. v. Morgentaler, [1988] 1 SCR 30 at 56; Carter, supra; Rodriguez, supra; Blencoe, supra at paragraph 55; AC, supra, at paragraphs 100-102).

“Where a criminal prohibition forces a person to choose between a legal but inadequate treatment and an illegal but more effective choice, the law will infringe (the) security of the person (Smith, supra, at paragraph 18).

(Security of the person will be engaged where state action has the likely effect of seriously impairing a person’s physical or mental health (R. v. Monney, [1999] 1 SCR 652 at paragraph 55; Chaoulli, supra at paragraphs 111-124 and 200; R. v. Parker, 49 OR (3d) 481 (CA)

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“State action that prevents people engaged in risky but legal activity from taking steps to protect themselves from the risks can also implicate security of the person (Bedford, supra, at paragraphs 59-60, 64, 67, 71).”

In the above situations, it is implicit that Canadians have the right to defend themselves.

Second, Section 20 of the Firearms Act provides that protection of life is a valid reason to acquire and possess a firearm. Specifically:

“An individual who holds a license authorizing the individual to possess restricted firearms or handguns referred to in subsection 12 (6.1) (pre-December 1, 1998 handguns) may be authorized to possess a particular restricted firearm or handgun at a place other than the place at which it is authorized to be possessed if the individual needs the particular restricted firearm or handgun

This same section of the act also allows for the carriage of a firearm to protect life.

Thus, the law not only allows for self-defense, but it explicitly allows for self-defense with a firearm.

Trudeau’s virtue signaling about Canadians supposedly having no right to use firearms in defense of their lives is a particularly egregiously rich example of hypocrisy. After all, it comes from someone making that pronouncement from behind a phalanx of men carrying firearms expressly for the protection of his life. If only the lives of ordinary Canadians were considered as valuable.

George Fritz

Garson