Corinne’s Quest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 25, 2023

Protecting kids from violence in the home is a human rights issueChildren have the same human right as adults in Canada, says Kathy Lynn, one of Canada’s leading proponents for repeal of Section 43 of the Criminal Code, the spanking law.

“This is not debatable. It’s not sometimes. it’s not except in certain situations. It’s not when an adult decides otherwise. Children have human rights, and being safe from violence from adults – whether parents, teachers or anyone else – is fundamental.”

The current debate about repeal of Section 43, with bills now on the order papers in both the House of Commons and the Senate, has spawned a wide array of arguments and opinions on the subject.

The UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Canada endorsed in 1991, is crystal-clear on this subject. Nobody, including parents, is entitled to hit or harm a child.

“Parents do not have rights. They have responsibilities,” said Lynn. It is their duty to provide for their children as they grow into adulthood, and that responsibility does not confer on them the legal right to inflict violence on them.

In the modern era most progressive parents understand this, but not all. Some parents argue that spanking works. They confuse fear of another beating with deciding to change behaviour. The research clearly demonstrates that children brought up in a violent household often resort to violence in adulthood to solve their conflicts with other people.

“Repealing Section 43 is only a beginning. Providing parents with insights and skills to deal humanely and effectively with children’s misbehaviours is an equally Important next step.

Kathy Lynn is chairs of Corinne’s Quest, a Canadian organization dedicated to repeal of Section 43.

 

Lametti simply needs to repeal S. 43

 “Isn’t it lovely that all the politicians are against hitting kids, according to an article on today’s (Jan. 24) Globe & Mail.  Problem is, they’ve been saying that for 30 years and I see no moves to repeal Section 43.”

There are now bills in both houses, Stan Kucher’s bill in the Senate and the house bill sponsored by MP Peter Julian, says Kathy Lynn, who chairs Corinne’s Quest, the main national group dedicated to repeal the law that allows hitting kids.

There have been private members bills in the House and the Senate for 30 years now, and I have worked in support of each and every one of them, she said.  But no government has moved toward repeal.

“I am heartened by the comments from justice minister Lametti’s staff, who have indicated the government is seeking the right opportunity to repeal Section 43.

“I have told justice minister Lametti time and again that his task is simple. Just repeal the bill. That’s all that’s required,” said Lynn.

“The bill as written does not protect children.  It defines how adults can hit them, and it offers a defense in law for those who do. It’s scandalous. We don’t need a law that instructs us how we can legally hit our children.”

She said MP Julian’s bill is simple in its elegance.  It simply says, ‘Section 43 of the criminal code is repealed’.  That’s all we need.

Corrine’s Quest is named to honour Corinne Robertshaw, a former government lawyer who dedicated her life to repeal of Section 43.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MAY 19, 2022

 

NDP BILL TO PROHIBIT CORPORAL PUNISHMENT åAGAINST CHILDREN IN CANADA

 

OTTAWA  – Today, NDP House Leader Peter Julian, MP (New Westminster-Burnaby) tabled Bill C-273, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (Corinne’s Quest and the protection of children), to repeal of Section 43 of the Criminal Code that permits physical punishment of children in Canada. Every single child in Canada should have the care and opportunities that they need to succeed and thrive – without exception.

 

Bill C-273 is seconded by NDP MP Lori Idlout (Nunavut), and would amend the Criminal Code to end all physical punishment of Canada’s children. Corinne’s Quest was formed in 2014 in honour of Corinne Robertshaw, a lawyer who dedicated her life to seeking to repeal Section 43.

 

It is still legal in Canada for parents and legal representatives to physically assault their children under certain circumstances.  Parents can use « reasonable force » for purposes of correction. Teachers can also use « reasonable force » depending of the context. It is the judge that has the last word in deciding whether or not the use of force is acceptable.

 

Kathy Lynn, chair of Corinne’s Quest which is dedicated to the repeal of Section 43 of the Criminal Code believes it is finally time to give Canada’s children the same protection against assault which is enjoyed by all its citizens. “Violence against children should be against the law, not defined by it,” stated Lynn.

 

“Corinne’s Quest continues to advocate on behalf of children. A special thanks to Kathy and John Lynn who are constituents of mine in New Westminster—Burnaby, who are really shepherding the push to ban physical punishment of children and repeal section 43. I hope that all members of Parliament will support this important legislation”, said MP Julian.

 

Physical punishment on children have severe consequences. Sweden was the first country to ban it in 1979. Today, 63 countries have banned physical punishment of children, and Canada still lags behind.

 

The NDP is committed to taking meaningful action in the fight to protect children and their right from being harmed by their parents and legal representatives. Bill C-273 will ensure that our children are safer under the law of Canada. New Democrats call on the Liberal government to adopt the clear measures in this bill and put an immediate end to the corporal punishment of all children in Canada.

 

 

 

The Canadian Coalition for the rights of children and youth, a group of academics who have extensive material to back up the concept that physical punishment does harm and fails as a means of discipline. They recently had a webinar and that can be seen at  https://rightsofchildren.ca/resources/ (it’s the first one webinar) or here on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Xss8AoZpPSEr. It was presented by Joan Durrant & Valerie Michaelson, and titled  Canada’s Children Deserve Protection from Violence: A Call to Action.

Corinne’s Quest 

Suite 1805, 719 Princess Street • New Westminster BC Canada V3M 6T9 • 1-604-258-9074 • www.corinnesquest.ca

News Release

For Immediate Release

Nov. 20, 2019

Child Mental Health Issues Can Begin 

Over the Knees of Their Parents

Today, Nov. 20, is National Child Day. It’s the day in 1989 we signed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, a pledge which we still do not honour. 

The UN has repeatedly warned us that Canada remains in violation of this pledge because of Section 43 of our criminal code which still permits and condones assaults on the nation’s children.

Many children today are anxious. They require increased mental health resources to cope with heightened anxiety levels, and part of the problem is domestic violence. 

When children are continually struck and spanked as a form of discipline, the more likely they are to defy their parents and to experience increased anti-social behaviour.  According to a meta-analysis of 50 years of research on spanking by experts at The University of Texas and the University of Michigan, aggression, mental health problems and cognitive difficulties can be attributed to continued spanking.

“it’s to our nation’s shame that we still have this law on the books,” said Kathy Lynn. “Today, 58 countries now have laws which specifically ban physical punishment of children in any way for any reason. I regret to say Canada’s name is not on that list.”

Lynn is the chair of a Corinne’s Quest, a national organization dedicated to protecting childrens’ right to be free from violence in any form. They call for repeal of Section 43 of the Criminal Code, also known as ‘the spanking law’.

In 2016 Prime Minister Trudeau made a statement strongly supporting National Child Day and made specific reference to protecting the personal security of children. “Since that date CQ has met with the Minister of Justice and have spoken to MPs and Senators and their staff including the PMO to urge them to follow up on the Prime Minister’s statement, to no avail,” said Lynn.

“We know that public sentiment in largely in favour of repeal and most MPs support us as well, but the government has failed to act.”

• The UN and most of the world’s governments are in favour of repeal.

• The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report calls for repeal.

• Most provinces now have laws or policy on the books banning the strap.

• Research overwhelmingly warns of harms to children, including physical injury but also teaching children that violence is a means for dealing with problems.

• Section 43 denies children their basic civil rights.

• Child-serving organizations and professionals including doctors and lawyers have voiced their support for repeal.

What the criminal code says

Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada

Every schoolteacher, parent or person standing in the place of a parent is justified in using force by way of correction toward 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.
 R.S.C., 1985, c .C-4

CQ’s position

Violence against children should be against the law, not defined by it. 

Decades ago in Canada, it wasn’t a criminal assault to physically beat 

slaves, 

servants, 

apprentices, 

prisoners, 

dogs, 

wives, and 

children. 

In today’s Canada, only children are still on that list.  

CQ’s request is simple:  Repeal Section 43 of the criminal code.

There is no need for replacement legislation, or a re-write of the existing law, or new conditions placed on Section 43. Senator Murray Sinclair has an appropriate draft law for this purpose. Existing laws dealing with the various levels of assault are sufficient, and existing laws also deal effectively with self-defence or protecting a child from harm, or breaking up a schoolyard fight.

This new parliamentary session provides an ideal opportunity for all parties to come together to jointly support a bill to repeal s.43.

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For information on Corinne’s Quest, see their website at corinnesquest.ca

For more information you may contact:

Kathy Lynn, chair, at 604-258-9074

Canada’s Best Kept Secret

 

Sometimes child discipline goes awry
and a small child ends up in the morgue.

By Kathy Lynn

Dr. Charles Ferguson, an eminent pediatrician from Winnipeg and one of Canada’s leading child-abuse experts, used to say to me that all too often children end up in the hospital because of “discipline gone awry.” The most horrific cases end up in the morgue.

The body of toddler Anthony Joseph Raine, found in a snowbank near a church in Edmonton recently, is just such a case. He was dead when he was found, and his body was covered in bruises. His father and the father’s girlfriend have been charged with second-degree murder.

In Canada we have a law which permits assaults on children, our most vulnerable citizens, up to the point where that assault crosses an ill-defined and highly subjective line. In some cases as in the case of young Anthony, it ends in death.

Section 43 of our Criminal Code says:

Every schoolteacher, parent or person standing in the place of a parent is justified in using force by way of correction toward 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.

This section of the Criminal Code is duplicitous in that it not only instructs the perpetrators of violence against children on just how violent they can be, it then offers them a defense when they do so. Violence against children should be against the law, not defined by it.

I lead an organization called Corinne’s Quest which is dedicated to the repeal of Section 43 of the Criminal Code because it is barbaric, it denies our children the basic human right to safety and security the rest of us enjoy, and it is based on some neanderthal notion from our distant past that says hitting a child is a responsible way of teaching them right from wrong.

Thirteen years ago the constitutionality of Section 43 was challenged in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, then through the Ontario Court of Appeal and finally on to the Supreme Court of Canada. Astonishingly, the Supreme Court found that beating a child did not infringe his/her human rights, if the beating was done in just the right way. The court’s split decision resulted in a judicial narrowing of the nature of the beatings Canadian children can now legally receive.

The Court set out a series of judicial limitations to assist in the interpretation of the justifiable or so-called “reasonable” limits of corporal punishment. Those judicial limitations (which again don’t appear in the Criminal Code) are as follows:

• Only parents may use reasonable force, and solely for purposes of correction;
• Teachers may use reasonable force only to remove a child from a classroom or secure compliance with instructions, but not merely as corporal punishment;
• Corporal punishment cannot be administered to children under two or teenagers;
• The use of force on children of any age incapable of learning from [it] because of

disability or some other contextual factor is not protected;

• Discipline using objects or blows or slaps to the head is unreasonable;
• Degrading, inhuman or harmful conduct is not protected, including conduct that raises a reasonable prospect of harm;
• Only minor corrective force of a transitory and trifling nature may be used;
• The physical punishment must be corrective, which rules out conduct stemming from the caregiver’s frustration, loss of temper or abusive personality;
• The gravity of the precipitating event is not relevant; and
• The question of what is “reasonable under the circumstances requires an objective test and “must be considered in context and in light of all the circumstances of the case.”

These are now the court-ordered rules on how you can legally beat children in Canada. On the second birthday of her twins, my daughter wryly observed to me that under Canadian law they were now old enough to be beaten.

Dr. Fergusson’s observation about discipline gone awry makes the point. Invariably, parents who strike their children says it is for purposes of discipline, and it may well be. The point is, it is absolutely the wrong way to discipline children. We cannot give parents carte blanche to whack their children and then act surprised when they go too far and the child is physically hurt or killed.

There are 52 countries around the world who have banned all physical punishment of children. Why don’t we join them? After all, we have banned executions and physical punishments in prisons. What if we decided to give children the same human rights as all other citizens and ban all legal assault no matter what the age of the child?

It’s time. This is not a big step.  Most Canadians today agree that it’s time to repeal S43 of the Criminal Code. It’s time to end the family violence caused by the right to assault children. It’s easy. Repeal S43 of the Code and at the same time implement the 6^th Call to Action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

May, 2017

 

Many Canadians reacted in horror earlier this month on learning that the Russian parliament had approved a law making it legal to assault family members.

According to a survey, 19 per cent of Russians said it can be acceptable to hit one’s wife, husband or child in certain circumstances. In 2013 more than 9,000 Russian women were reported to have been killed in domestic violence, and critics argue this new law could encourage an even greater level of family violence.

The Russian Orthodox Church authorities believe “the reasonable and loving use of physical punishment is an essential part of the rights given to parents by God himself”.

But Canadians need to re-think their reaction of outrage at this news. Canada also has a law on the books which not only permits family violence, it provides legal protection for the person who commits the violence.

It’s called Section 43 of the Criminal Code.  “Every schoolteacher, parent or person standing in the place of a parent is justified in using force by way of correction toward 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.”

“We firmly believe that Violence against children should be against the law, not defined by it”, says Kathy Lynn, who heads up Corinne’s Quest, an organization devoted to repeal of Section 43.

“Canada has had laws which permitted beating

slaves,

servants,

Sailors,

apprentices,

prisoners,

dogs,

wives and

children.

In today’s Canada, only children are still on that list”, she said.

“That’s just wrong.  And it’s not who Canadians are.

“This is not a child discipline issue.  It’s a human rights issue.  All Canadians, whatever their age, deserve the protection of law against violence in any form.

The research is clear. Physical punishment of children carries risk factors for the child including self-esteem problems and future aggressive behaviour.

The point is that we have this antiquated law. It can easily be repealed. It is not necessary in our country.”

Today is Family Day in BC and next Monday, February 20, Family Day will be celebrated in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario. It is a good day to note that children and adults are safe in their homes in our country. Let’s celebrate National Family Day by having our homes be safe refuges for our children.

The federal government simply needs to repeal Section 43 of the criminal code.

Editors:  Contact Kathy Lynn at 604-258-9074 or at Kathy@ParentingToday.ca