Justice committee  Yes, we are a member of the Canadian Teachers' Federation.

Justice committee  That is what our legal experts are saying. That's not a world I would want to live in, but that would have to be our advice for teachers moving forward.

Justice committee  I certainly hope not. What our legal—

Justice committee  Absolutely.

Justice committee  Let's just be clear. What our legal experts are saying is that our advice would have to be not to lay your hands on kids, period. What I would do as a math—

Justice committee  Do you mind if I finish answering the question? I think that's really important. What I would do as a teacher in that class would be to intervene. I would find someone to intervene, but I don't want our teachers to have to go through some nuanced legal analysis. I want them to be able to react reasonably in the moment to keep kids safe, and that's where legal experts have said that without section 43, we would be putting teachers at risk.

Justice committee  Absolutely. Thanks for the question. First off, I want to say that the NSTU opposes violence and corporal punishment against children, full stop. That is not what we're speaking to. I also agree with Monsieur Levasseur that it's really important to repeal section 43. It's just important to get it right.

Justice committee  Thank you, Chair, for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Ryan Lutes. I'm the president of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union. We represent approximately 10,000 teachers and educational specialists in Nova Scotia's public school system. I'd like to acknowledge that I live and work on the unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq people.