Committee to Repeal Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada
The Repeal 43 Committee is a national, voluntary committee of lawyers, paediatricians, social workers and educators formed in 1994 to advocate repeal of section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada.
It is an offence under our Criminal Code to use force against anyone without their consent. This right to personal security is the most fundamental of all human rights. It is a protection against assault that all adults take for granted.
Children do not have the full benefit of this protection because section 43 of the Criminal Code justifies hitting children for disciplinary or "correction" reasons. This violates a child's right to the equal protection and benefit of the law guaranteed by our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
It contravenes the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child. It violates a child's dignity and shows a lack of respect. It
can lead to serious physical and emotional harm.
www.Repeal43.org
The Canada Wide Campaign to End Corporal Punishment of Children
The Repeal 43 committee ( see www.Repeal43.org ) published the 1/2 page ad below in Canada's largest national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, on November 20th, 2008. The Repeal43 Committee has placed similar ads in previous years.
Open Letter to Members of Parliament
Physical punishment causes harm.
Let’s respect a child’s right to be protected.
Dear Members of Parliament:
November 20 is National Child Day – a day to celebrate the United
Nations Convention on the Rights
of the Child, ratified by Canada in 1991.
Unfortunately, Canada is in violation of this Convention because it
has not repealed Section 43 of the
Criminal Code – a 19th century provision allowing parents to hit children
for the purpose of “correction”.
The UN Committee monitoring the Convention has repeatedly asked our
government to repeal this
section. It violates a child’s right to protection from assault and creates
a risk of serious physical and
mental harm. In 2009, Canada will again report to the UN on the
implementation of the Convention
and the progress made on ensuring children’s rights.
We, the undersigned, call on you to repeal Section 43 –
thus meeting our obligation to both the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child, and our responsibility to
protect and prevent harm to children.
You can see the ad here
Organizations from across Canada that were listed in the ad and who support abolishing Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada which allows assaulting/hitting children.
Abbotsford Community Services
Aisling Discoveries Child and Family Centre
Alliance for Children and Youth of Waterloo Region
Amnesty International Canada
Amnistie internationale, section canadienne francophone
Andrew Fleck Child Care Services
Association des centres jeunesse du Québec
Association des Médecins en Protection de l’Enfance du Québec
Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario
Atlantic Therapy and Assessment Centre
Attachment Parenting Canada
Bayfield Treatment Centres
BC Council for Families
BCGEU Community Social Services Component
Blue Hills Child and Family Centre
Boost Child Abuse Prevention & Intervention
Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada
Burnaby Family Life
CAMH Centre for Prevention Science
Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Canadian Association for Community Living
Canadian Association of Family Resource Programs
Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists
Canadian Association of Social Workers
Canadian Child Care Federation
Canadian Children’s Rights Council - Conseil canadien des droits des enfants
Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children
Canadian Council for Reform Judaism
Canadian Federation of University Women
Canadian Foster Family Association
Canadian Foundation for Children, Youth and the Law
(Justice for Children and Youth)
Canadian Institute of Child Health
Canadian Physiotherapy Association
Canadian Psychological Association
Canadian Public Health Association
Canadian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto
Catholic Family Services of Saskatoon
Catholic Social Services of Edmonton
Centre des services communautaires Vanier
Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women
and Children, Faculty of Education, University of Western
Ontario
CHEO: Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario
Child Abuse Prevention Council of London and Middlesex
Child and Youth Advocate, Province of Newfoundland and Labrador
Child & Youth Friendly Ottawa
Child Care Resource & Referral Program BC
Child Development Institute
Child Protection Centre, Children’s Hospital of Winnipeg
Child Welfare League of Canada
Children’s Aid Foundation
Children’s Aid Society of Grey County
Children’s Aid Society of London and Middlesex
Children’s Aid Society of Toronto
Children’s Mental Health Ontario
Children’s Rights Centre, Cape Breton University
Clinique de pédiatrie sociojuridique du Centre Hospitalier
Universitaire Ste-Justine
College-Montrose Children’s Place
Collingwood Neighbourhood House, Vancouver
Comité hospitalier de protection de l’enfance CHUL, Québec
Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la
jeunesse du Québec
Community Living Toronto
Community Safety & Crime Prevention Council of Waterloo Region
Defence for Children International – Canada
Direction de la santé publique, Agence de la santé et des
services sociaux de Montréal
Eastern School District, PEI
Educating for Peace
Faculty of Social Work, University of Regina
Family and Children’s Services of Guelph and Wellington County
Family Education Centre, Brampton, ON
Family Service Saskatoon
Family Service Thames Valley
Family Service Toronto
Family Services of Greater Vancouver
Family Services of the North Shore
Federation of Child & Family Services of BC
First Call: BC Child & Youth Advocacy Coalition
First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada
Gloucester Association for Children with Special Needs
Health Nexus/Best Start Resource Centre
Healthy Child Coalition – Central Region, Manitou, Manitoba
Infant Mental Health Promotion, Hospital for Sick Children
IWK Health Centre, Department of Pediatrics
Jewish Child and Family Service, Winnipeg
Jewish Family and Child Service of Greater Toronto
Jewish Family Services, Edmonton
John Howard Society of Sudbury
Kids Help Phone
Kinark Child and Family Services
Kingston Interval House
Kootenay Region Branch of the United Nations Association
in Canada
Macaulay Child Development Centre
Manitoba Child Care Association
Many Rivers Counselling and Support Services Society, Whitehors
McMaster Children’s Hospital, Child Advocacy and
Assessment Program
National Council of Women of Canada
National Youth In Care Network
New Brunswick Association of Social Workers
New Brunswick Association of Speech-Language
Pathologists and Audiologists
Newfoundland & Labrador Foster Families Association
Northeastern Catholic District School Board, Timmins, ON
Northern Child and Family SCAN Clinic
Office of the Child and Youth Advocate, Alberta
Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth, Ontari
Ombudsman/Child and Youth Advocate, New Brunswick
Ontario Association of Child and Youth Counsellors
Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies
Ontario Association of Social Workers
Ontario Public Health Association
Open Doors for Lanark Children and Youth
Ottawa Community Committee on Child Abuse
Parenting Education Saskatchewan
Parenting Today
Peel Children’s Aid Society
Perth District Health Unit, Stratford, ON
Professional Parenting Canada
Provincial Advisory Committee on Child Abuse, Manitoba
Provincial Council of Women of Ontario
Repeal 43 Committee
Representative of Children and Youth, Province of BC
ROCK Reach Out Centre for Kids
Saskatchewan Association of Social Workers
Saskatchewan Children’s Advocate Office
Save the Children Canada
SMARTRISK
Society for Children and Youth of B.C.
South-East Ottawa Community Health Centre
Sparrow Lake Alliance
St. Mary’s Home/MaisonSainte-Marie
Thames Valley Children’s Centre
The United Church of Canada
Toronto Public Health
UNICEF Canada
V.O.I.C.E. (Violence Overcome In Creative Ensemble)
Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre
Windsor-Essex Children’s Aid Society
YMCA of Greater Toronto
Yorktown Family Services
