The Implications of R. v. Vaillancourt: Much Ado about Nothing?

PETER LINDSAY

ABSTRACT

The broad potential of the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Vaillancourt to force a rethinking of the necessary level of mens rea for imposing criminal liability has not been realised by the cases since R. v. Vaillancourt. The problem lies in the lack of clarity in the decision itself, and in the Supreme Court's own inconsistency about the principles espoused in R. v. Vaillancourt. Thus, pending further guidance from the Supreme Court, talk of the broad potential impact of R. v. Vaillancourt may well be "much ado about nothing".

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Citation: (1989) 47(2) U.T. Fac. L. Rev. 465.
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