A fatal shooting near Biggar, Sask. is sparking debate over property protection laws.
Colten Boushie, 22, was fatally shot after the vehicle he was in drove onto a farm in the Rural Municipality of Glenside last week. Fifty-four-year-old Gerald Stanley faces a charge of second-degree murder in the death.
Regina lawyer Brian Smith says property protection laws are complicated, and must be weighed on a case-by-case basis.
"The idea that you have absolute rights to do whatever you want or can protect (your property) anyway you want is absolutely false in Canada," he said.
Smith says there are limits to what force, if any, a property owner can use.
"It’s going to depend specifically on the circumstances of why they're there, and what's happened while they're there,” he said.
The shooting has triggered intense debate on the Internet. Social media academic Katia Hildebrandt says spreading misinformation online has its own consequences.
"I think the biggest risk there is that people take that, they look at it, and they think they have rights they don't have or they decide to do something about it,” she said.
“That’s clearly really dangerous.”
Hildebrandt says any corrections made to false information often aren't spread as widely as the original story, making it hard to re-educate the public.
Misunderstanding the law can result in property owners being charged.
"When you're in the moment when something happens, you're obviously not going to think to call a lawyer or Google the law,” Smith said.
“So, the fact that people think they have rights and they don't is what lands them in my office charged with assault when they think they're doing something right."
Based on a report by CTV Regina’s Jamie Fischer
