The Canadian Press
OTTAWA—Repealing a provision of the Criminal Code that shields parents from facing assault charges for hitting their children would affect more than just First Nations’ communities.
Legal experts say it also would affect many immigrant and minority parents caught in a legal haze when it comes to child-rearing.
Section 43 of the Criminal Code gives parents and teachers a legal defence when they physically discipline children, which most often is understood as legalizing spanking.
Removing the section was one of the 94 recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that examined the legacy of Canada’s residential schools.
The Liberals have committed to implementing all of the recommendations, but experts say the section needs to be amended—not repealed outright—to continue to provide some degree of legal protection to parents.
The Canadian Bar Association and the Canadian Medical Association Journal have lobbied for its repeal in the past.
But private member’s bills to remove it from the Criminal Code repeatedly have failed to pass the Senate and House of Commons.
