Hon. Hassan Yussuff: Will the senator take a question?

Senator Yussuff: As you are aware, changing the law to support the bill and all the principles in it is the easy part.

We have to change attitudes. With parents and their children, it is not so easy. In each culture, it is not so easy.

The bigger challenge will be how we educate parents regarding how they treat their child differently than maybe they’ve been brought up to treat a child. When I was young and growing up, for my parents, corporal punishment was the normal thing. But much later, as parents, they realized that was not the right way to go about it. Maybe it didn’t help my behaviour — I’m not sure — or maybe it made me more delinquent. But the reality is my parents did change, and I appreciate that reality. But within our family, which was very large with ten of us, we grew up recognizing we could not treat our children that way. I am grateful today that my daughter grew up in her family without ever having to deal with the fact of corporal punishment.

The bigger question I have is about how we change the attitudes of families, recognizing that some see it as fundamental way for them to raise their children however they choose. This is not an easy thing. Some get their guidance from gospel; some get it from their own family growing up. I know this is not fair, but I thought I should ask you this question.

[Translation]