Canada’s Laws on Corporal Punishment

Hello everyone,

In my last posting I briefly outlined what Canada’s law was in regards to corporal punishment.
In today’s post, I will delve further to Canada’s legal position on corporal punishment on children.
As mentioned, the updated August 2012 version of the Criminal Code states, under section 43 that:

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.
                                                                    (Section 43 of the 2012 Criminal Code).

 

The Parliament of Canada site notes that this part of the Code first appeared in 1892 in Canada’s first Criminal Code, with the “removal of masters and apprentices” (Barnett, 2008) from the original wording, which had stated under then section 55:

It is lawful for every parent, or person in the place of a parent, schoolmaster or master, to use force by way of correction towards any child, pupil or apprentice under his care, provided that such force is reasonable under the circumstances.
                                (Barnett, 2008 citing Section 55 of the 1892 Criminal Code).

 

In reading this particular section it would appear that Canada has a lenient policy in child disciplining. The wording seems to imply that striking a child is allowed under certain circumstances and that without any limitations to follow this section that physical discipline, and the methods in which discipline is applied, is open to interpretation.

In 2000, an application by the Canadian Foundation for Youth, Children and the Law (the “Children’s Foundation”) to the Superior Court of Justice was dismissed by Justice McCombs on July 5, 2000. The issue that had been the basis for the application was that section 43 of the Criminal Code was unconstitutional under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom, where section 43 violated sections 7, 12 and 15(1) under the Charter (2000 CanLII 22397 (ON SC)).

In 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeal filed by the Canadian Foundation for Youth after concluding that section 43 of the Criminal Code did not infringe on sections 7, 12 and 15(1) of the Canadian  Charter (CanLII, [2004] 1 SCR 76, <http://canlii.ca/t/1g990>). Thus, section 43 was not stricken from the Criminal Code.

Now that Canada’s law on corporal punishment on children has been discussed, the next blog posting will discuss international examples of corporal punishment on children.

 

SOURCES:

See s. 43 of Criminal Code of Canada August 2012.
 
Barnett, L. (2008). The “Spanking” Law: Section 43 of the Criminal Code. Retrieved from http://www.parl.gc.ca/content/LOP/ResearchPublications/prb0510-e.htm.

Canadian Foundation for Children, Youth and the Law v. Canada (Attorney General), 2000 CanLII 22397 (ON SC), <http://canlii.ca/t/1w0ws> retrieved on 2012-09-23.

Canadian Foundation for Children, Youth and the Law v. Canada (Attorney General), 2004 SCC 4 (CanLII), [2004] 1 SCR 76, <http://canlii.ca/t/1g990> retrieved on 2012-09-23.