Parental rights exist in Canada, whether the Liberals or the NDP like it or not, argued Conservative MP Jamil Jivani.
Conservative MP Jamil Jivani called out the NDP-Liberal coalition for not respecting parental rights in a committee hearing Thursday. He made the comments while debating a bill that could change the way Canadian teachers and parents interact with children.
Conservative MPs fought against NDP-led Bill C-273, which would repeal a provision of the criminal code that allows parents and teachers to use “reasonable force” on a child.
NDP MP Peter Julian brought forward the bill to ban physical punishment on children, stating that many developed countries have these laws and Canada needs to catch up.
One of Bill C 273’s goals is to adhere to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s sixth recommendation which called for the government to repeal section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada.
In 2004 the Supreme Court of Canada determined the scope of what “reasonable force” entails.
The decision makes it illegal to use physical force to discipline teenagers or children under the age of two, to use objects against a child of any age, or to slap the head of any child and prohibits teachers from using force against children as punishment though they can use reasonable force to be able to remove a child from a classroom for example.
The Conservative amendment to the bill would codify the Supreme Court’s 2004 decision.
Without the amendment, Conservatives warn the bill could completely remove a parent or teacher’s right to use any force against a child.
“(The Amendment) addresses my primary concern and one that I’ve heard from many people, which is that Bill C273 does not recognize or respect parental rights,” Jivani said at the Standing Meeting on Justice and Human Rights. “Parental rights deserve recognition just as teacher safety does in any consideration of this bill, in any consideration of section 43 of the Canadian Criminal Code.”
The Conservative party’s main concern with the repeal of section 43, often referred to as the “spanking law” or “Corrines Quest,” is it potentially prohibits parents from using reasonable force on a child, such as spanking a child who reaches for a hot stovetop or holding a child who refuses to sit in a chair during a “five-minute time out.”
Without the amendment, Conservatives worry that the bill would also prevent parents and teachers from breaking up a fight between children.
“We have heard from many parents who are concerned about their place, being completely excluded, undermined, disrespected, and disregarded by the current Liberal government,” Jivani said. “It’s not hard to see why many moms and dads might feel that way. At the very top of the Liberal government, there is a prime minister who has said quite clearly that he does not respect or recognize parental rights.”
Jivani noted how Justin Trudeau lectured concerned Muslim parents last year by telling parents their concerns about gender idealogy in schools are due to “misinformation and disinformation” fuelled by “the American right wing.”
“The prime minister showed fundamental disrespect for the rights of moms and dads,” Jivani said. “It’s not just the Liberal party that has this chronic ideological problem.”
He noted that NDP member of the committee Randall Garrison explicitly said, in February, “There’s no such thing as parental rights in Canada.”
“This is not just morally incorrect; it is also factually incorrect. The most relevant Supreme Court of Canada decision on section 43 of the Criminal Code…says quite clearly that the legislative purpose behind section 43 is parental rights,” Jivani said. “It is not an American right-wing idea. It is a Canadian idea recognized by our highest court in the land.”
He mentioned a post on X made by Melissa Mbarki of Muskowekwan First Nation, the daughter of a residential school survivor, who responded to Liberal MP Seamus O’Regan’s criticism of Pierre Poilievretelling Trudeau to “butt out” of New Brunswick’s gender identity school policy debate.
“This is why we call the current government the NDP Liberal government. It’s quite obvious that these parties work together on ideological objectives that seem completely inconsistent with what the vast majority of Canadians actually want from their government,” he said.
“I think it’s important that we point out that without (the) amendment from the Conservative Party, we would actually be continuing the allowance of an ideological agenda. That seems hell-bent on the marginalization of moms and dads and raising their children.”