Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46)

Marginal note:Where belief in consent not a defence

273.2 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.