The third petition, Mr. Speaker, has to do with corporal punishment.
The petitioners point out that whereas section 43 of the Criminal Code allows school teachers, parents and those standing in the place of a parent to use reasonable force for the correction of pupils or children under their care; and whereas the 1994 study in Ontario found that 85 per cent of all reports of physical abuse of children began as attempts to discipline; and whereas the use of force for correction teaches children that violence is an acceptable method of dealing with conflict, the petitioners call on Parliament to end legal approval of this harmful, discriminating practice by repealing section 43 of the Criminal Code.