Okay, babes, picture this: it’s the middle of the night on August 18, in the totally chill small town of Lindsay, Ontario, and, like, a dude just casually breaks into someone’s apartment. Like, hello? Who even does that? Anyway, the homeowner, Jeremy McDonald, is totally freaked and there’s this super intense altercation. Next thing you know, the intruder—41-year-old Michael Breen—is, like, in the hospital with life-threatening injuries. And not to be dramatic, but now both guys are facing charges. Yeah, you heard that right. The intruder, obvi, has a list of charges as long as your Sephora receipt—break and enter, theft, mischief, possession of a weapon, and even violating probation. The homeowner? He’s slapped with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon. Like, excuse me?
So now Canada is basically clutching its pearls over what even counts as self-defence. Because, like, if someone breaks into your home in the middle of the night with a crossbow (yes, a crossbow, not me being medieval), are you supposed to just offer them tea and biscuits?
Enter Premier Doug Ford—and omg, did he have thoughts. He literally said, “Something is broken,” and went off about how, like, if your family is threatened, you should use “all resources you possibly can” to protect them. He even ranted about the justice system being too soft, saying stuff like, “some bleeding heart judge … we’re gonna let him out on bail five more times…” Like, Doug was in full dad-protecting-his-kids energy.
But not everyone’s on board with the “fight back however you want” vibe. Kawartha Lakes Police Chief Kirk Robertson basically gave the world’s calmest lecture, reminding everyone that, like, yeah, Canadians have the right to self-defence, but it has to be proportionate. Translation: you can’t just go, like, full action-movie hero if the situation doesn’t warrant it. Robertson said officers took their time before charging McDonald because, like, duh, people were gonna lose it over this.
Legal experts also jumped in. Toronto lawyer Patrick Colquhoun was, like, super specific: the courts look at proportionality, whether the threat was immediate, if there were other ways out, and if the force was “reasonable.” It’s basically a checklist, not a free-for-all. He also shaded the system a little, saying charging homeowners could feel like “victim-blaming” and that it might actually make criminals bolder. But he also said, like, don’t freak out just yet—the chances of McDonald actually being convicted? Pretty low, in his view.
And omg, the locals? Totally siding with McDonald. His friend Jesse Kalabic was like, “He’s a good guy,” and called out politicians for writing laws that end up punishing people just trying to survive. A business owner, Charmin Eckertt, said McDonald’s super nice and, duh, everyone should be able to defend their home. Like, seriously, if your house isn’t safe, what even is?
So now this tiny Ontario town is basically ground zero for Canada’s messy convo about self-defence. Is it about protecting yourself at all costs? Or is it about making sure you don’t go overboard and end up as the one in cuffs? Like, can we not?
What’s wild is how this story blew up from a late-night break-in into a national debate, with everyone from politicians to police chiefs to your neighbour’s cousin’s dog walker weighing in. Canadians are literally asking: do we need to rewrite the laws so homeowners don’t end up criminalized for, like, trying not to die? Or do we stick with the whole “measured response”?
Whatever happens in court, this case has basically exposed the awkward truth: Canada is, like, sooo not ready to agree on what “self-defence” should mean. And honestly? The only thing more Canadian than arguing about it is probably apologizing while you do it.
XOXO,
Valley Girl News
Where justice meets a crossbow in small-town Canada
