Canada seeks to hold criminally responsible some extremely intoxicated people harming others

According to a government briefing deck, the bill is meant to provide criminal liability for "extremely intoxicated violence" in a way that complies with Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In May, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that defendants accused of violent crimes such as homicide and sexual assault can use self-induced extreme intoxication as a defense, striking down a federal law supported by women's advocacy groups.

Canada's federal government introduced a bill on Friday to hold people criminally responsible if they harm someone else while extremely intoxicated if the self-induced intoxication was criminally negligent after a Supreme Court ruling last month said people could claim extreme intoxication as a defence.

Under the bill, a person can be found to have committed an offence even if they were extremely intoxicated at the time if a court finds there was an objectively foreseeable risk that consuming the substance could cause extreme intoxication and lead the person to harm someone. According to a government briefing deck, the bill is meant to provide criminal liability for "extremely intoxicated violence" in a way that complies with Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In May, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that defendants accused of violent crimes such as homicide and sexual assault can use self-induced extreme intoxication as a defense, striking down a federal law supported by women's advocacy groups. The court said a 1995 law that prohibits the defense was unconstitutional and violated Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

At issue was whether defendants accused of a violent crime in a criminal court can raise extreme intoxication - known as "non-mental disorder automatism" - as a defense.