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House Hansard - 76

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 20, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 76 - May/20/22
Ms. Bonita Zarrillo (Port Moody—Coquitlam, NDP)
  • May/20/22 11:25:23 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise today on behalf of young women in my riding of Port Moody—Coquitlam who have expressed to me sincere concern regarding the Supreme Court of Canada ruling on self-induced intoxication in cases of violent crimes. Youth-led, non-profit BOLT Safety Society wrote to me stating, “Court decision threatens Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights, which affirms everyone the right to life, liberty and security. In no manner does defending perpetrators for their conscious choice of self-intoxication guarantee Canadians this right, and this bolsters a dangerous narrative in a justice system that is built upon precedents”. In Canada, there are five million survivors of sexual assault. With this ruling, figures are set to boom, putting more woman, girls and LGBTQ2+ Canadians at risk as overwhelmingly the defendants are men and the victims are women. The gaps in this law relating to self-induced intoxication need to be amended immediately.
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