The general proposition that I was citing for the committee, particularly when we're dealing with the criminal law, was that it's critical that persons subject to that law know what their legal jeopardy is in advance of performing the act. So, to the extent that language describing the criminal offence incorporates terms that are almost impossibly vague, that dilutes the force of that principle and exposes individuals to criminal jeopardy when they ought not to be exposed. That is a problem, as the honourable member says, for physicians. It's also a problem for individuals. One should not have to undertake a course of action without knowing what its criminal consequence is likely to be. So in my submission, the criterion of being reasonably foreseeable is laden with that type of ambiguity. It's not required. It's not required by Carter, and it's not required in principle. In my submission, it simply adds a further layer of ambiguity to this provision.
On May 3rd, 2016. See this statement in context.