BCHA urges swift passage of Bill S-251 to end corporal punishment
Publisher: In-Sight Publishing
Publisher Founding: September 1, 2014
Publisher Location: Fort Langley, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Publication: Freethought Newswire
Original Link: https://www.bchumanist.ca/children_deserve_protection_too_bcha_brief_on_bill_s_251
Publication Date: June 11, 2024
Organization: British Columbia Humanist Association
Organization Description: The British Columbia Humanist Association has been providing a community and voice for Humanists, atheists, agnostics, and the non-religious of Metro Vancouver and British Columbia since 1982. We support the growth of Humanist communities across BC, provide Humanist ceremonies, and campaign for progressive and secular values.
The BC Humanist Association (BCHA) has called upon the Senate committee to expedite the passage of Bill S-251. This bill would repeal a section of the Criminal Code that permits corporal punishment of children.
An identical bill is currently before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. The BCHA recently submitted a similar brief to that committee.
The Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs is considering the bill, which would implement the sixth call to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report. Many experts in child development and child’s rights organizations have already testified to the committee about the irreparable harm that can be caused by corporal punishment or “spanking.”
The BCHA recently endorsed the Joint Statement on Physical Punishment of Children and Youth, a coalition of nearly 700 organizations facilitated by CHEO (Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario).
In its brief, the BCHA argues that the primary excuse for permitting corporal punishment against children is religious. They point out that the one brief strongly opposing the bill comes from a religious organization that claims on its website that “The authority within the family is derived not from the government but from God who created and instituted the family.” Notably, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled a law with no secular purpose cannot be constitutional.
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