Commentary on Canadian Foundation for Children, Youth and the Law v. Canada (Attorney General)

Abstract

This chapter comprises a commentary on a rewritten judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada in Canadian Foundation for Children, Youth and the Law v Canada (Attorney General) 2004 SCC 4. That decision concerned the constitutionality of the 'reasonable punishment' defence to the physical punishment of children. After outlining the original judgment, I critique the rewritten judgment, and ask whether reframing the legal issue in terms of children's rights might be more likely to invert the premise of the s43 debate than a human rights perspective.

Keywords: children's rights; human rights; corporal punishment; best interests; constitutionality