42 The distinction between motive and intent has been well understood by Canadian courts since at least 1979, when Dickson J. stated: In ordinary parlance, the words “intent” and “motive” are frequently used interchangeably, but in the criminal law they are distinct. In most criminal trials, the mental element, the mens rea with which the court is concerned, relates to “intent”, i.e. the exercise of a free will to use particular means to produce a particular result, rather than with “motive”, i.e. that which precedes and induces the exercise of the will. The mental element of a crime ordinarily involves no reference to motive . . . . (Lewis v. The Queen, 1979 CanLII 19 (SCC), [1979] 2 S.C.R. 821, at p. 831)
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