Mr. Speaker, I will not get into a game of comparing intellects. I will not take part in that sort of dialogue within this august institution. Members of the electorate can judge on their own the intellectual level of debate that takes place in this forum.
Let me refer to the example used, a conviction on speeding. In most of these cases there is very clear evidence and clear proof. There is a driver who has been stopped. The measurement is by certified radar equipment. That is why the proof in that particular set of circumstances is very clear. The balance of probabilities does not entail that sort of requirement. The balance of probabilities would allow for a case where someone sees someone zip by, says it looks like the person who lives in a house where that car is parked, and convicting on that sort of basis.
We are talking about a very serious piece of legislation. We understand that the legislation would have a very difficult time surviving a charter test. Our judiciary is built upon a tradition that calls upon the Crown to prove its case and on a presumption of innocence.
The balance of probabilities undermines those very principles, so it would not survive a charter test. If it does not survive a charter test, we have in fact defeated this whole exercise. Instead of having a bill that addresses a specific loophole that exists and being able to criminalize that particular activity, we would be passing laws that would be ineffectual and that would, in the worst case, undermine our judicial traditions.