On February 13, 2024, Bill C-273 was passed in the House of Commons with a 209 vs. 115 vote. This bill will criminalize any action of any parents who reasonably discipline their children by spanking them. Bill C-273 removes the protection for parents and teachers provided in S.43 of the Criminal Code that provides that parents and teachers are protected from assault charges if they physically discipline a child in a manner reasonable under the circumstances.

S. 43 of the Criminal Code states as follows:

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 bill was a result of the collaboration between the Liberals’ Justin Trudeau and the NDP’s Jagmeet Singh, to join together to form a majority to pass any legislation that suits them. The agreement, called the Confidence and Supply Agreement, has allowed these two inadequate political leaders to strut and preen on the political stage and pass any legislation even if it’s contrary to the wishes of the Canadian public. This collaboration between the two minority parties in the House of Commons provides them with a majority to change Canada without risk of defeat.

It’s a strange world that these two “progressive” left wing political parties have created. They have no problem allowing the willful killing of a helpless child in the womb, no questions asked, and allowing the killing by lethal injection of vulnerable people under Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) because they lack housing, social benefits or require a hospital bed or expensive medical treatment as an alternative to death. However, they object to a parent or teacher using reasonable physical force on a child for disciplinary purposes.

Significantly, the Canadian Teachers’ Federation has expressed reservations regarding the repeal of S. 43. It contends that the repeal would expose teachers and parents to potential criminal charges of assault for minor and inconsequential physical interactions with children, including a teacher intervening when students physically threaten themselves or others in the classroom, or parents disciplining children in the course of teaching them acceptable behaviour.

The day to day life of parenting involves both love and discipline, applied with common sense in such circumstances as putting a child in a car seat, insisting they sit at the dinner table, or remain in bed, or not run out onto a busy street. To do this, parents should not be made vulnerable to an on-looker making complaints to the authorities and thereby, having to endure an investigation by social services for the ordinary common sense application of minor discipline to their children.

Over the past years, the anti-spanking crowd has made many unsuccessful attempts by way of Parliament or the courts to remove S.43 from the Criminal Code so as to prohibit any physical discipline of a child.

However, in 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada concluded that S.43 of the Criminal Code was constitutional and a reasonable provision. However, it did provide limitations on what is reasonable which included the spanking of children should only occur to children between the ages of 2-12, no objects should be used such as a belt or ruler, and the child should not be hit on the head. It concluded however that parents’ or teachers’ actions should be carried out for purposes of correction in order to provide needed discipline to a child.

In the House of Commons debate on Bill C-273, the NDP and Liberal MPs applied the usual inaccurate statements about spanking, claiming that it is a violent act and an assault on a child. Simply put, they argued that all spanking of children is abuse, which is not at all true. They rolled together discipline, punishment, hurting children and violence in order to build their case against parents’ and teachers’ authority.

The anti-spankers seem to have no understanding that reasonable physical force, provided in a loving manner for the correction of behaviour, is legitimate authority.

Moreover, there is no science whatsoever that shows loving parents, who may occasionally and moderately spank, cause any measurable harm of any kind. In the absence of robust scientific evidence against the use of moderate physical correction, there is every reason to refrain from passing legislation which does not command widespread public support and for which there may be a high price to pay in terms of increased levels of child misbehaviour and youth crime.

Instances of adolescent crime, leading to the death of others are already an unfortunate fact in today’s society. A year ago, three adolescent girls killed a homeless man on a Toronto street for no known reason. Students have been killed on the grounds of their high school by other troubled youths, often using a gun or knife. Teenage gangs are causing harm to others. Why are these tragedies increasing? It is very likely caused by parents failing in their rightful duty to properly discipline their children.

The anti-spankers are also ignoring the problems that have arisen, for example, in Sweden which banned spanking in 1979. Six out of 10 children in Sweden now feel vulnerable at school and have been victims of youth violence by other youth. Within ten years of the ban, physical abuse had risen to three times the U.S. rate. In the thirty years since the ban, child violence has increased by over 1400%, even though the Swedish population has only increased by about 11.5%. Similarly, the World Health Organization found in a 2002 study, that Austria, which criminalized spanking in 1977, had the highest bullying rates of all 27 countries examined.

What’s Next for Bill C-273?

Bill C-273 is a private member’s bill introduced by NDP MP Peter Julian (New Westminster-Burnaby) and has the full support of the NDP Party as well as the Liberal Party. Since it passed second reading last week, it will now be sent to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights for review and possible amendment. However since the Liberals and NDP form the majority on the Committee (as they do on the floor of the House of Commons) it is unlikely that the objections of Conservatives and the Bloc Quebecois who opposed the bill will have much impact. After the Committee reviews the bill, it will be referred back to the House of Commons for third and final reading, and then forwarded to the Senate for approval.

Action Required

Even though the NDP and Liberals will dominate the Committee hearing, they must be led to understand that the bill is not acceptable to Canadians, who have the responsibility of raising their children. Also, members of the Senate must be made aware that the public does not accept this inappropriate attack on families’ and children’s well-being.

To find the names and email addresses of the Senators go to: https://sencanada.ca/en/senators/

Please write immediately to your MP, regardless of his/her party, and to members of the Senate.

Although this bill will be an uphill battle to defeat, we must do everything we can to both delay its passage and hopefully put a stop to it.

A federal election will be held next year which hopefully will end the offensive agreement between the NDP and Liberal parties, which is corrupting our country.