Tony Bernardo is the Executive Director of the Canadian Shooting Sports Association.On September 1, in the quiet suburbs of Vaughan, Ontario, Abdul Aleem Farooqi, a 46-year-old father of four, gave his life to protect his children.When Farooqi dared stand between his children and the men who came to terrorize them, the intruders murdered him.Farooqi’s brother called him a "hero," but to the rest of Canada, he's a stark reminder of how the rash of home invasions shatters our illusion of safety inside our own homes.Just days earlier, in Markham, a woman was kidnapped while driving, and her residence was invaded, leaving a 54-year-old man shot in the chaos..EDITORIAL: Afraid to speak: Canada’s quiet majority is biting its tongue.These aren't isolated horrors; they're part of a wave sweeping across Canada.In the last six months, headlines have screamed about the escalating violence.Peel Police arrested an organized crime ring behind 17 brutal invasions affecting over 60 victims, including nine children.Toronto Police Service data shows 131 home-invasion robberies were reported by August 2025, already surpassing pre-2024 annual totals..A Brampton man was shot in his bed. His wife vows her family "can't stay here anymore."Arrests of 12 suspects in a spree netting $1.8 million in stolen luxury goods.York Regional Police noted an alarming 11-home-invasion cluster in early 2025 alone.Toronto police report a 105% year-over-year surge in total invasions, even as car-theft-linked home invasions dip slightly, signalling a terrifying pivot to direct, personal terror..EDITORIAL: Teachers who celebrated Charlie Kirk’s assassination forfeit their right to teach .Families are installing fortified window films and debating self-defence laws, and federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre demands Criminal Code reforms to protect homeowners who fight back.York Police Chief Jim MacSween's advice to "hide and comply" has ignited a furious backlash from citizens who fear for their safety and know police cannot arrive in time to save them.Yet, for all the media frenzy, one glaring truth emerges.We have no idea how bad the Home Invasion Crisis really is..Why not?Because home invasions aren’t tracked by police or Statistics Canada. Statistics Canada only tracks crimes explicitly listed in the Criminal Code.Home invasions don’t exist as a distinct category in our national Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) system.Since “home invasion” appears only as an aggravating factor under section 348.1 (a subset of breaking and entering), police shuffle these crimes into vague buckets—assaults, thefts, break and enters..EDITORIAL: Celebrating Charlie Kirk’s assassination is not journalism.The result? A national blindness to one of the most terrifying crimes a family can endure.Without accurate data, we’re left to guess.Is the crisis spreading across Canada, or is it confined to the GTA?Are fatalities climbing?Is this now random violence or only “targeted” attacks as police often insist?.We can’t answer those questions, not because the answers don’t exist, but because the data doesn’t exist.Auto thefts — now a standalone Criminal Code offence since 2010 — were curbed through targeted policing and tech like GPS trackers, so criminals are adapting.Organized networks, once focused on joyrides and stealing cars, appear to be shifting to "easier" targets, like invading homes, beating occupants, and stealing whatever they can: car keys, money, bank account PINs, and anything else of value.Recent home invasions left victims with severed tendons from machetes, hammer assaults, and, in Farooqi's case, the death of a loving husband and father..EDITORIAL: Manitoba minister’s hate-fuelled comments on Charlie Kirk’s assassination show she’s unfit for office.Police often downplay incidents as "targeted" to soothe the public’s fears, but what if they're not targeted?What if those home invasions are actually random, as the Farooqi case suggests?Without accurate statistical reporting, it’s impossible to know the answer.Trend data would reveal if the severity of home invasions is escalating..Local police forces aren't coding "home invasion" distinctly, so only the most horrific examples are reported in the media.Imagine the policy goldmine that real data on "home invasions" could deliver.Since invasions have spiked 105% in Toronto, what happened in other major cities?Are home invasions primarily an urban issue? .EDITORIAL: The assassination of Charlie Kirk: The Left’s war on dissent.Or do they happen in rural areas too?Is there a common denominator to motives?The answers to these questions would help policymakers tackle the problem effectively.Armed with facts, we could allocate police resources to high-risk areas, bolster bail reforms (as York Police urges after the Farooqi murder), or amend the Code to make home invasion a standalone offence, mirroring auto theft's evolution..What’s clear is that the Justice Department and federal government must act.They must instruct Statistics Canada to issue UCR codes for home invasions or introduce legislation elevating it to a reportable crime.Suggested categories — entry with intent, weapon use, occupant harm, and targeting — would provide nuance without overhauling the system.This isn't about fearmongering. It's about basing policy on facts, not fear..EDITORIAL: Alberta teachers union selfishly puts itself before students.Canadians once believed their homes were castles, safe from violation. That illusion is being burned to the ground.Families like Farooqi’s deserve more than vigils and hashtags. They deserve prevention options grounded in reality, not guesswork.Until we demand the truth, we are groping in the dark while criminals kick in the door.Without it, we're just guessing in the dark while criminals kick in the door.Without the facts, government cannot legislate effectively.Tony Bernardo is the Executive Director of the Canadian Shooting Sports Association.
