You might enjoy these one-liners I found: “The dinner I was cooking for my family was going to be a surprise, but the fire trucks ruined it.”
Or how about this one: “I refused to believe my road worker father was stealing from his job, but when I got home, all the signs were there.”
Once again, it comes as no surprise that all the signs are there for voting on a dangerous bill. Bill S-206 proposes the repeal of Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada. You’re probably wondering what that means, so let me explain.
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Section 43 protects parents and guardians from being charged with criminal assault when exercising a reasonable amount of force in the upbringing of their children. And now you’re likely wondering what constitutes a reasonable amount of force. Here are some examples:
Parents could be charged for picking up and moving a child, stopping a child from leaving his room or leaving his house, restraining a child against his will or enforcing behaviour with a spank. If someone spots you doing one of these things, there would be a duty to report you as abusing your child, in which case you could be charged and your child may be removed from your home by social services.
You may also want to know how this bill got introduced in the first place. A senator, Celine Hervieux-Payette, introduced it prior to retiring from her position. She said, “I am convinced Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government will make Canada the first country in North America to prohibit child rearing violence.” She made reference to the abuse in residential schools before adding, “Ottawa needs to send a strong message to help Aboriginal communities break the cycle of violence on reserves by prohibiting the use of any form of child rearing violence.”
However, this senator neglected to factor in the effect it would have on parents who are simply trying to do their best to raise happy, well behaved children.
A nonpartisan research organization is busy conducting research to show how similar legislation has proved a disaster in Sweden, before Bill S-206 comes up for a vote in the Senate.
No one knows for certain when it will come up for a vote, but there are petitions available online regarding this issue, and you could certainly contact your member of Parliament and state your case. Let your representative know there is no benefit to the repeal of Section 43.
Bill S-206 has showed up as quite a surprise to many Canadians, and we want to ensure it’s defeated so we don’t have to put out all the fires afterward.
Let’s protect Canada from legislation that could easily be misinterpreted and cause unbelievable heartache for parents and guardians.
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