OUT OF THE MOUTHS
OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES
Blood filled her mouth before breakfast
yesterday I tell her that in Canada no one
is allowed to hurt her leave bruises make
her bleed But you have wars? This logic
is exceedingly logical and should stop all
further attempts to reassure her that she now
resides among a peaceloving tribe
I take another weak stab –
Well at least they don’t shout & hit you at school
There’s shouting all the time and all the kids hit
You don’t know much about your country now do you Ms. Child Therapist ?
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The issue before the Supreme Court of Canada was whether s.43 of the Criminal Code of Canada is unconstitutional. Section 43 provides that a parent, teacher or person acting in the place of a parent is justified in using force to correct a child that is under his or her care provided that the force used is reasonable in all of the circumstances.
Decision
The Supreme Court of Canada decided that section 43 of the Criminal Code is constitutional; it found that section 43 does not violate a child’s rights to security of the person and equality, and is not cruel and unusual punishment. More specifically, the Supreme Court held that section 43 ensures that the criminal law applies to any use of force that harms a child, but does not apply where the use of force is part of a genuine effort to educate the child, poses no reasonable risk of harm that is more than transitory and trifling, and is reasonable under the circumstances.
Winter 2012 (…hoping this decision is as transitory as it is trifling…)
