New Democrat MP Peter Julian (New Westminster-Burnaby, BC) suggested that Canadians should mark Truth and Reconciliation Day by coming together to support a ban on corporal punishment..According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Julian stated his intention to "launch a national campaign" aimed at repealing the law often referred to as the "spanking law.".“Reflect on our collective history of colonialism and genocide and how it continues to impact survivors,” Julian said in a statement. .“We must end all legalized harm and physical punishment of children in Canada.”.The 2015 Calls to Action of a Federal Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended Parliament repeal Section 43 of the Criminal Code. The provision for corporal punishment was written in 1892 by then-Attorney General David Thompson, a father of seven children..Section 43 states “Every schoolteacher, parent or person standing in the place of a parent is justified in using force by way of correction towards a pupil or child as the case may be who is under his care if the force does not exceed what is reasonable under the circumstances.”.As recently as 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the law in the case of Canadian Foundation for Children, Youth and the Law v. Canada. In a 6 to 3 vote, the judges ruled that corporal punishment was constitutional..“It is appalling that physical punishment of children is still legal in Canada,” said Julian. The provision should be repealed “once and for all.”.In 2022, Julian introduced Bill C-273 An Act to Amend the Criminal Code, which aims to amend the Criminal Code by repealing Section 43. The bill is awaiting a Second Reading debate in the House of Commons. Several similar bills in both the House and Senate have previously been unsuccessful..“Advocates have argued that minor physical correction is acceptable in certain circumstances and that individuals should not risk criminal prosecution as a result of their parenting techniques,” said a 2016 Library of Parliament report The Spanking Law: Section 43. .“If it were to be repealed, other defences and prosecutorial discretion may be available to protect parents and teachers who use non-harmful physical force in reasonable circumstances,” added analysts..The calls for repeal stem from the 1995 acquittal of a vacationing American tourist who was charged with assaulting his daughter in a parking lot in London, Ontario..David Peterson from Warrenton, Illinois, faced charges after a passerby witnessed him spanking a misbehaving five-year-old girl and reported it to the police..Peterson stated his daughter had been misbehaving, trying to push her two-year-old brother out of the car and accidentally slamming a door on the toddler's hand..Peterson spent a night in jail. He was acquitted at trial as a “responsible, reasonable and caring parent.”
