Yes. The issue of someone's not being criminally responsible because of mental illness has been in our Criminal Code forever. In other words, we don't punish someone who doesn't understand the nature and quality of his or her act. However, what we are faced with in this country are various mental disorders and various forms of mental illness that keep people away from work, that contribute to their addictions, and that cause them to be brought before the criminal justice system.
I think if you had a police officer here, he would probably tell you that they spend a lot of time in emergency departments with persons who are suffering from mental disorders. They don't know what to do with them and it keeps them from being out there policing. We are not discussing that specific issue, though; we are looking at the more general concern, where the mental illness, however defined, has contributed to the offence.