Trespassing and self defence concerns in rural and municipal Saskatchewan have been a major topic over the last 3 years.

Questions started being asked after the death of Colten Boushie on a farm in central Saskatchewan, which gained national and international media attention. More recently, a home invasion in the community of Weyburn at the start of January raised concerns among residents after the home owner was charged with second degree murder following the shooting one of the intruders.

Local Lawyer Talon Regent has heard these concerns and wants to share a message with those who are uncertain about what is and isn't allowed.

Local Lawyer Talon Regent (courtesy of www.regentlaw.net)

"A lot of people are under the recent misconception that you don't have many rights, and I want to clarify for the record that you absolutely do have the right to defend yourself," said Regent. "It always comes down to the fundamental question 'How much force is reasonable?'"

Not a lot of information has been released by the Weyburn Police about the recent invasion, but Regent believes it could have something to do with premeditation.

"Say [the homeowners] for example, have a loaded gun in their house in case somebody breaks in they want to make sure they have quick access to that weapon. That is not acceptable under the current law; A) Unsafe storage of a firearm, and B) You are premeditated in that you're anticipating somebody coming in to your home."

Regent realizes not every situation is the same, but regardless of the circumstanced the first thought of the homeowner should be to contact emergency services.

"If you have time you should always be calling 9-1-1. If you choose to take other action when you have time to call 9-1-1, that's going to get you into hot water. You should always be asking yourself the question 'What is the lowest amount of force I can apply in order to eliminate this threat?'"

Regent has spoken on a number of occasions with the organization 'Farmers Against Rural Crime' and says there can be a difference in how you should react depending on whether the crime happens in a rural area, or within a city or town. Deciding what reasonable amount of force is necessary is a large part of the question you must ask yourself.

"If somebody is breaking into your home and you rush down the stairs and you see it's an old woman who's got dementia and is confused where she is, it's excessive to apply any permanently damaging force to her. Contrary to that, if you're in a situation where someone has broken into your home and they have a weapon, be it a machete, baseball bat, or a gun and you are fearing for your life, then you can take reasonable measures to apply force to them to defend yourself."

Recently, Justice Minister Don Morgan took part in the Saskatchewan Stock Grower’s Association Semi-Annual meeting in Regina to talk on the Province’s New Trespass Legislation that will require people to get permission before entering private land. It also gives landowners legal protection now against property damage caused by a trespasser.

Producers talked with the Minister about concerns around trespassing and rural crime, noting that many farms are located two to three hours away from RCMP detachments. Morgan notes they’ve made moves to help improve response time in rural area.

"We've ramped up police officers, we have our conservation and highway officers trained and carrying firearms, handcuffs, have radios that interconnect with the RCMP. They may well be our first point of contact in a lot of situations."

Morgan says he’d like to see the new trespass legislation implemented this Spring.

 

With files from www.DiscoverWeyburn.com