Liberals Promise to Repeal Controversial ‘Spanking Law’

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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The Liberal government has decided to move against a law protecting parents from spanking their children. However, many child advocates have stressed that repealing the law would send a strong message that physical punishment, even if imposed intentionally, is harmful to children.

Spokesman for Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, Christian Girouard, mentioned in his remarks on Monday that the government is including the repeal of Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada, i.e. aimed to protect parents who use “reasonable” physical force against children as part of its greater pledge to implement all 94 recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The emailed statement from Girouard also explained that “however, at this point, we cannot speculate on potential legislative or policy approaches to address this issue.” Many of those advocating for the federal government to repeal Section 43 have stressed that it would bring Canada in line with its responsibilities under the Untied Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Whereas on the other hand, a social worker who is a consultant and researcher in the field of child protection, Ron Ensom, mentioned in his remarks that “laws can either support public-health messages or laws can undercut public health messages.” Executive director of Justice for Children and Youth, i.e. a non-profit legal aid clinic in Toronto, Mary Birdsell, have complained that “it is not a radical thing to say that in a society where we don’t hit people, we also don’t hit children.”

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