Outlaw Both the Hitting of Children and Smoking in Their Presence

This is a two-pronged petition, aimed at lobbying all levels of Canadian government to outlaw both the hitting of children and the smoking of tobacco in their presence, whether in public or at home.   Both are acts of violence against children.

Banning The Hitting Of Children:

In  Canada, if you hit an adult, you run the very real risk of being convicted of criminal assault; but you may hit a child under the guise of ‘correction’.  Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada states “… a parent is justified in using force by way of correction … if the force does not exceed what is reasonable under the circumstances.”    This needs to be changed to give children at least the level of protection afforded adults.

Banning Smoking in the Presence of Children and Infants:

In Canada, there are laws to protect adult workers from the known carcinogens and toxins present in second hand smoke but children are not protected from people smoking around them in their own homes.  This is not the case in Latvia whose lawmakers understand that many societal ills can be prevented by insisting upon the nurturing of children:

“Smoking in the immediate vicinity of a child is now a punishable offence in Latvia. A law to this effect was passed unanimously on Thursday May 30th 2013 by the Latvian parliament, making Latvia the first European country to approve such a measure. The liberal daily Diena defends the ban against the arguments of tobacco companies: "Smoking in the presence of a child is now a punishable offence. Asthma, pneumonia circulatory failure and even cancer - parents who smoke can pass on all these illnesses to their children. This time the parliamentarians, despite the whining of tobacco industry representatives, stuck to their guns. According to the lobbyists, when you're at home you're in your own private sphere, where you can do what you please. But just being in your own four walls doesn't give you the right to hit, sexually abuse, or psychologically manipulate a child. And smoking is also a form of child abuse. After all, it's also punishable when adults help children buy cigarettes."

(Diena - Latvia | Friday, May 31, 2013.)   Eurotopics

Latvia’s government does not anticipate criminally charging parents for these forms of violence against their children in any but the most extreme cases.  Their intent is to work with offending parents to help them become effective ‘guardians’ of their own children.  It is the fact of Latvia having made these actions illegal that will force it’s citizens to confront and change their destructive parenting patterns.

Please sign this petition and bring it to the attention of your favourite politician!

Our Petition:

We the undersigned petition all levels of Canadian government to outlaw both the hitting of children and the smoking of tobacco in their presence.