Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Mount Royal and chair of the justice and human rights committee for the clarification.
On the general point, I wish there were an opportunity for us to work together before we get there. When there are a lot of amendments, the timing does not allow us to know what the other side is going to do, so we often end up in an unnecessarily adversarial place at committee. I think we could learn from that, as there is often better dialogue in committee the hon. member chairs than many others. That would maybe allow us not to waste so much time and to find a consensus on legislative provisions. The more of that, the better, as far as I am concerned.
On the unconsciousness provision, I agree. Insistence on ongoing consent before the act, during the act, and after the act is critical. The lack of consciousness my friend talked about was of great concern to some, because if one says that lack of consciousness, or total unconsciousness, vitiates the consent, then what about someone who is semi-conscious or very drunk and it is not clear if that person is able to consent? This insistence on ongoing consent would do the trick. However, I can say there are defence lawyers lining up to make the argument to the contrary.