

Canada’s federal government introduced a bill on Friday, June 17th, to hold some people criminally responsible if they harm someone else while extremely intoxicated.
TORONTO, CANADA (Reuters) -A person could be held criminally responsible if the self-induced extreme intoxication was criminally negligent. The bill follows a Supreme Court ruling last month that said people could claim extreme intoxication as a defense.
“Extreme intoxication” is a state akin to automatism in which a person is not acting voluntarily and its use as a defense requires the introduction of expert evidence. Being drunk or high is not a defense against criminal charges in Canada.
Under the bill introduced Friday, a person can be found to have committed an offense even if they were extremely intoxicated at the time if a court finds there was an objectively foreseeable risk that consuming the substance could cause extreme intoxication and lead the person to harm someone.
According to a government briefing deck, the bill is meant to provide criminal liability for “extremely intoxicated violence” in a way that complies with Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
In May, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that defendants accused of violent crimes such as homicide and sexual assault can use self-induced extreme intoxication as a defense, striking down a federal law supported by women’s advocacy groups.
The court said a 1995 law that prohibits the defense was unconstitutional and violated Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
At issue was whether defendants accused of a violent crime in a criminal court can raise extreme intoxication – known as “non-mental disorder automatism” – as a defense.
“The court’s decision left a gap in the law. Bill C-28 fills that gap … in a way that’s both constitutional and fair,” Justice Minister David Lametti told reporters, adding that under the proposed law “an individual would be held responsible for the violence they commit while in a state of extreme intoxication if they ended up in that state through their own criminal negligence.”
The Yucatan Times
Newsroom
Comments
more recommended stories
Taxi driver murdered in Ticul, Yucatan
After the discovery of the lifeless.
Italians blame global warming for the glacier collapse that killed at least six people and injured 15 (Watch Video)
Italy’s prime minister on Monday, JUly.
AMLO says that Mexico should return to “God’s clock”
Mexico’s president submitted a bill on.
Bison attacks senior citizen (Watch Video)
A 71-year-old visitor at Yellowstone National.
Mérida hosted the national course to protect animals during natural weather phenomena
The Mérida City Council coordinated a.
AMLO comes forward to defend US Ambassador Ken Salazar
On Tuesday, July 5th, Andrés Manuel.
Mauricio Vila supervises the operation of the new logistics center of Amazon in Yucatan
Governor Mauricio Vila Dosal visited and.
Has the Ambassador in Mexico gone too far, U.S. officials ask?
Lorenzo Cordova, president of Mexico’s National.
Campeche Prosecutor’s Office carried out a search warrant in the house of “Alito” Moreno
The Campeche Prosecutor’s Office carried out.
After a shark attack, teenager will have her leg amputated in Florida
The teenager who survived a shark attack last.
Leave a Comment