Mr. Speaker, on September 30 the Supreme Court of Canada accepted the logic of the defence of drunkenness when one Henri Daviault said he did not know what he was doing when he dragged a 65-year old women from her wheelchair and raped her.
When the highest court in Canada grants acquittal for rape based on drunkenness, women are set back 100 years to non-person status. This is insensitive and offensive. Drunkenness must not be an excuse to commit crimes against women.
On behalf of all women, I urge the justice minister to act swiftly to accept the recommendation of the Law Reform Commission that dangerous intoxication be made a criminal offence.