Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last fall the Supreme Court of Canada brought down its controversial ruling on the extreme drunkenness defence. This judgment appalled many Canadians, including myself. However, at the time, it appeared that the court's direction that such a defence would only be appropriate in extremely rare cases would ensure that this defence would not be abused.
In the months since, however, a number of accused persons have tried to use this defence to excuse criminal behaviour. As a matter of fact, there is a trial going on right here in Yellowknife as we speak, in which a man accused of a vicious assault is trying to use this as a defence. Mr. Speaker, I think most Canadians and northerners will agree with me when I say extreme drunkenness is not acceptable behaviour and is especially not an appropriate defence for violence. I'm appalled that this defence is being used by more and more accused persons and I am especially appalled that this irresponsible notion has made its way into the courts here in the Northwest Territories.
The Government of Canada and the Justice Minister, the Honourable Allan Rock, agree that most Canadians find this unacceptable. On Friday, Mr. Rock introduced amendments to the Criminal Code which would restrict the use of this defence. Mr. Speaker, the amendments would introduce into the Criminal Code the concept of a standard of reasonable care. This standard suggests, and rightly so I might add, that it is unacceptable for someone to be in a state of self-induced intoxication such as they are unaware or incapable of consciously controlling their behaviour, to prevent them from interfering or threatening to interfere with the bodily integrity of another person.
In short, getting so drunk that you can't stop yourself from hurting someone or threatening to hurt someone is unacceptable and the Criminal Code of Canada will reflect that fact. This is an important step, Mr. Speaker, and I applaud Mr. Rock for making this effort to ensure that this belief will now be incorporated into our justice system.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude.