Best of 2025: Don’t let police take away your right to self-defence — Full Comment podcast

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Over the holidays, we’re looking back at some of the best episodes of 2025. Self-defence laws are back in the news, with the Alberta government recently directing Crown prosecutors to refrain from charging people for using force in “defending themselves and their loved ones.” Yet police suggest that if you face a violent home invasion, you need to give up and not fight back. That’s wrong, as criminal lawyer Solomon Friedman told Brian Lilley: the power to defend yourself, your home and others (including killing an assailant if it’s justified) is backed by the courts and the law. In this episode, Friedman and Lilley discussed why the message cops keep sending risks making innocent people into defenceless targets while encouraging criminals to become fearless. (Originally recorded Sept. 5, 2025.)