I find the two comments I just heard fascinating. But if you read the French text, you will see that it talks about “rapports” between the parties. That may be the source of the confusion. The French word “rapports” and the English word “relationship” do not in fact mean the same thing. The French word “rapport” is broader in meaning. I am glad to see that it was designed with the idea in mind of....
I will apply this to another situation that concerns us all, bullying. Imagine a little boy who is picked on every day in the schoolyard. There is no true “relationship”. That is why I think the Canadian Bar Association took both meanings into account when making its recommendation. I am telling you that “rapport” in French refers to interaction between people. That is why they made the recommendation to us. That was my understanding.
When they made their presentation, I understood that it affected not only battered woman syndrome, but also bullying, which are specific cases referred to in clause 34(2)(f). We must consider the type of connection that existed between the accused who is trying to argue self-defence and the person who was battered, struck or whatever.
We are not trying to weaken self-defence, far from it. That is not what we are trying to do; we want to be sure we are targeting the same thing, that is all.