Why Has Canada Still Not Outlawed Corporal Punishment Against Children?

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This story was originally published on thewalrus.ca

By Ailsa M. Watkinson

This story contains details about violence against children that some readers may find disturbing.

During the summer of 1994, the American Peterson family were holidaying in Canada. The parents, David and Paula, along with their children, Rachel (five years old) and William (almost two), were celebrating Paula’s birthday at an Ontario restaurant. At some point, David and the children left the restaurant to collect a gift for Paula that was in the car. The children were in the back seat and, as noted by the Ontario provincial court judge hearing the case, “almost immediately, young Rachel started to misbehave. She started fighting with her brother” and pushed him out of the open car door. When William attempted to climb back in, Rachel slammed the door of the car on her brother’s fingers. He screamed. David pulled Rachel out of the car, placed her across the trunk, and administered a “bare bottom spanking.” The event was witnessed by a number of people, one of whom called the police, and David was charged with assaulting Rachel. The story hit newspapers across the country.

I read the news reports at the time and knew that the chances of David Peterson being convicted of assault were slim to none. The reason being that parents, teachers, and others acting in the place of parents are provided with a defence within the Criminal Code of Canada. Section 43 is one of several defences within the Criminal Code that permits the use of force in specific incidences. Section 43 excuses those who use physical force on children for the purpose of correction, making children the only group of people specifically mentioned in the Criminal Code upon whom corporal punishment can be used. It states:

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

David was successful in using section 43 as his defence. The Ontario court ruled that the physical punishment he meted out upon his five-year-old daughter was “reasonable under the circumstances,” and thus the assault charge against him was dismissed.

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