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Criminal Code

Version of section 273.2 from 2018-12-13 to 2024-10-30:


Marginal note:Where belief in consent not a defence

 It is not a defence to a charge under section 271, 272 or 273 that the accused believed that the complainant consented to the activity that forms the subject-matter of the charge, where

  • (a) the accused’s belief arose from

    • (i) the accused’s self-induced intoxication,

    • (ii) the accused’s recklessness or wilful blindness, or

    • (iii) any circumstance referred to in subsection 265(3) or 273.1(2) or (3) in which no consent is obtained;

  • (b) the accused did not take reasonable steps, in the circumstances known to the accused at the time, to ascertain that the complainant was consenting; or

  • (c) there is no evidence that the complainant’s voluntary agreement to the activity was affirmatively expressed by words or actively expressed by conduct.

  • 1992, c. 38, s. 1
  • 2018, c. 29, s. 20

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