The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was unequivocal. In its final report, it described corporal punishment as “a relic of a discredited past that has no place in Canadian schools or homes.” The Commission tied the practice to the historical violence of residential schools, where physical discipline was used not just to control but to erase—language, culture, autonomy, and hope.
Among its Calls to Action, the TRC specifically demanded that Canada repeal Section 43. It recognised that legal permission for corporal punishment perpetuates intergenerational trauma and undermines the rights of Indigenous children. Yet, as of today, Section 43 remains in place.
The continued existence of this law stands in direct contradiction to the spirit and content of the TRC’s recommendations. It signals that reconciliation is rhetorical, not structural. It allows the systems that facilitated residential school abuse to persist under new names and updated policies.
The TRC’s moral authority derives not only from history, but from its clarity: children have the right to be protected from violence—physical or psychological—in every space, including schools. Ignoring that call is not neutrality. It is complicity.
Invitation to collaborate
We recognise that this site does not currently have an Indigenous content writer or knowledge holder contributing to this section. If you are an Indigenous educator, scholar, or caregiver and would like to collaborate, contribute, or advise on this work, we welcome your guidance. For more information, see Help please: call for Indigenous perspectives on collective punishment in BC schools.
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