Is spanking child abuse under provincial protection acts?
It is sometimes claimed that repealing s. 43 would equate any spanking with child abuse and that parents who spank will have their children taken into care under provincial child protection acts. Child abuse is referred to only in provincial child protection acts – not in the Criminal Code. Whether spanking amounts to abuse depends on how it is defined by those acts. Physical abuse is generally defined as physical harm. Repealing s. 43 would not change these definitions. It would simply establish the principle that hitting for correction is no longer approved by our criminal law. Harm would still have to be proven under provincial acts for spanking to amount to abuse. If a spanking consists of occasional one or two mild to moderate smacks with an open hand on the buttocks or extremities, witnesses in the current constitutional challenge to s. 43 agreed that this would not amount to child abuse. If, however, the spankings were severe or frequent and caused physical harm, child protectio
