• Most serious offences= most lost of liberty if you are convicted
• Rational calculus
• Onus is on the crown to prove I am guilty
• CHART
• 1) Intention/knowledge assumption that people intend the natural consequences of their
actions but we don’t always convict you for something you did
• In order to convict you we have to prove that you had a subjective foresight of the
consequences of your actions
• Want to look inside their head and see if he was certain or substantially certain that his
action would result in the prohibited consequences
• Prohibited consequences, the persons action
• Mens rea being certain or substaintally certain
• Criminal liability actus reus, mens reus, defense or excuse, then convict, punsh
• Subjective test have to look at the evidence to determine that the individual was sure that
a prohibited consequence would occur
• Intention subjective foresight, accused is certain or substantially certain that their actions
will lead to a prohibited consequence (exercise of free will)
• The test is fully subjective
• R v Bussanga and duroche (1979) Ont CA
• Both francophone Canadians live in essex city (near Windsor) they have been trying to get
the board of education to build a French language high school
• There was an election, and the new board says it isn’t the time for a new school
• They thought they need to create a “furor” need to get people worked up because they
need the government to see that it is important
• Create a handbill, put it up everywhere
• The police were called in, and an investigation was held and those statement go against
section 319 (2) which is the willful promotion of hatred
• They trace this handbill back to these individuals who just want support for their cause
• Willful promotion of hatred
• Actus reas incite hatred, communicate statements other than a private conversation, likely
to lead to breach of the peace(potential for violence), use against an identifiable group, in a
public place, promotes hatred
• Mens rea willfully promotes
• Willfully is intention
• They did not intend this, so the court goes back and looks at what intention means and the
courts says you have to have subjective foresight to know that these consequences would
result
• Motive is no intention, has nothing to do with mens rea
• Did you foresee the fact that hatred would be promoted by your action of distributing the
handbill, did you exercise your freewill to produce a particular result
• Intention doing it on purpose to promote hatred • The court said if the individual could foresee that the distributed handbill, even though you
distributed it to get money for the high school, you still intended it
• It was not their motive, they still knew that if they published that, they were promoting
hated
• Jury trial convicted at trial, goes to the court of appeal, go back for a new trial using this
definition
• Knowledge
• Beaver v The Queen (1957) SCC
• There are two brothers, Beaver and his brother Max are both in jail, they get to know this
guy named Montroy, who does them some favours, when they get out of jail, Montroy calls
them up and says he is angry at a guy named Demeter, he wants to get even with him,
Demeter wants to buy heroin from him, so Montroy says he will get it for him, but he wants
the Beavers to take the money but give Demeter milk sugar instead (lactose)
• The beaver
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