| Historical Information |
|---|
| This post is about a previous Session of Parliament. Any legislation here that did not receive Royal Assent has been terminated. |
C-273 – An Act to amend the Criminal Code (Corinne’s Quest and the protection of children) – removes a clause in the Criminal Code that allows force to be used to discipline a child.
The specific clause allows teachers, parents, or guardians to use force to correct a child they’re responsible for as long as that force is considered reasonable. C-273 simply removes this entire clause.
Progress
C-273 went up for its Second Reading and passed with 209 voting in favour and 115 voting against.
| Party | For | Against | Paired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | 150 | 0 | 1 |
| Conservative | 0 | 115 | 1 |
| Bloc Quebecois | 31 | 0 | 0 |
| NDP | 24 | 0 | 0 |
| Green | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Independent | 2 | 0 | 0 |
The Liberals have a few good things to say about C-273, such as it addressing one of the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as well as it addressing a number of international reports that say physical punishment doesn’t work well with children. They do have some concerns about C-273 though, mostly around the fact that the current protections it would remove allow teachers and parents to use force to move children, such as removing a rowdy child from a classroom or putting one in a car seat. They have concerns that we may see excessive reports of abuse in these situations from passing C-273, but for now want it to go to committee and see what comes up there.
The Conservatives think this topic is too complex to be properly resolved in the time allowed for a Private Members’ Bill. They also mention concerns about taking parenting tools away from parents and opening things up to additional government control.
The Bloc Québécois stated that they opposed the Bill due to the problems teachers are currently having disciplining children, and that losing the ability to use force to restrain children when needed would hurt their ability to teach. They also claim that the committee won’t be able to amend C-273 as it’s a single line and offers no room for amendment. I’m not entirely sure why they decided to support it, I don’t see anything about them changing their minds. Best I can see is they want it to go to committee to see what they have to say about it.
Committee Review
C-273 was sent to the Committee on Justice and Human Rights, and came back with just a minor change setting it to take effect one month after getting Royal Assent.
The House accepted this change without a vote, so this Act will now proceed to its Third Reading. If you have an opinion on it, this is your last chance to contact your MP and let them know!
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