A ground-breaking Canadian court decision which ruled that asking whether "no means no'' in sex assault cases is illegal should be adopted in Bermuda, an Opposition MP said yesterday.

Shadow Health and Social Services Minister Kim Young hit the headlines after she condemned a winning defence case where a judge asked a jury to consider whether an alleged sex assault victim's "no'' was "a genuine no.'' And yesterday she said the Island should follow the precedent set by the Canadian Supreme Court -- which said there was "no defence of implied consent to sexual assault in Canadian law.'' Mrs. Young said: "We should definitely follow suit -- there is a historical way of looking at women and the world is changing that view.

"As we go into the year 2000 we should go along with that view and think of women as entities in themselves.

"The stereotypical way of looking at women is changing worldwide and we should change with it.'' A panel of nine Supreme Court judges in Canada -- which has an English-based legal system like Bermuda -- struck down an Alberta judge's ruling that a man accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl during a job interview could claim the girl's refusal of his advances was not strong enough.

The appeal judges overturned the man's aquittal and ordered the accused to appear before the original trial judge to be sentenced.

The judgment said: "The complainant either consented or not -- there is no third option.'' And they added: "Having control over who touches one's body, and how, lies at the core of human dignity and autonomy. It follows that any intentional but unwanted touching is criminal.'' The judges unanimously backed a 1992 "no means no'' law passed in the Canadian Parliament which said there is no consent where there is force, fear, threats, fraud or the exercise of authority.

The ruling said that trial judges or juries must still assess credibility in light of all the evidence, including a complainant's words and actions before and during an incident.

Mrs. Young said: "The most important thing is we need to understand that women can say `no' and mean `no' and that people should understand that.'' The Paget East MP came under fire after her original comments on the Bermuda case were published.

Lawyer Richard Horseman -- who defended the 37-year-old Bermuda man accused of serious sexual assault and stalking -- said Chief Justice Austin Ward was obliged in law to raise the issue.

And ex-Magistrate Arthur Hodgson, now Environment Minister, also leapt to the defence of the Chief Justice.

But Mrs. Young insisted: "It was not a personal attack on the Chief Justice -- what I said was that that specific defence should not have been an option.''