As a fellow Canuck, I respectfully submit that these conclusions are not entirely correct. True, anything used as a weapon is treated as such; but it's not illegal to use a weapon in a legitimate case of self-defence. You have the right to defend yourself if you reasonably apprehend death or serious bodily harm. But you may only use the minimum force necessary to stop the immediate threat. Sometimes minimum force leads to the death of the perp; and while that is homicide, it's not murder. If you clearly go too far, and become the aggressor after the immediate threat has ended, you may well face criminal prosecution. An example would be, say, pursuing and bashing in the skull of perp that is trying to get the heck out of your house. I think the police and Crown prosecutor give reasonably leeway in self-defence cases, but there are limits to how far you can go.