SoVote

The Chair (Ms. Lena Metlege Diab (Halifax West, Lib.))

11:02:59 a.m.
Watch
Read Aloud

Good morning, everyone. I call the meeting to order. Welcome to meeting number 101 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. Pursuant to the order adopted by the House on February 14, 2024, the committee is meeting in public to begin its study of Bill C-273, an act to amend the Criminal Code with regard to Corinne’s quest and the protection of children. Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the Standing Orders. Members are attending in person in the room and remotely using the Zoom application. Members using Zoom already know this, so I will not go through the process of how you use Zoom. All our witnesses are appearing in person for the first panel. I thank all the witnesses for being here with us today and welcome them. From the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, we have Ms. Heidi Yetman, president, and Ms. Tesa Fiddler, member of the Advisory Committee on Indigenous Education. From the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers, we have Mr. Sébastien Joly, executive director. Each witness will have five minutes to give their presentation. We will then move on to questions. We'll begin with the Canadian Teachers' Federation.

212 words

C-1, An Act respecting the administration of oaths of office

Ms. Heidi Yetman (President, Canadian Teachers' Federation)

11:04:36 a.m.
Watch
Read Aloud

Thank you, Chair. I'm pleased to be speaking today as a representative of the Canadian Teachers' Federation, an organization comprising teachers' unions in every province and territory. I am a teacher with over 20 years of experience in the classroom. I would like to acknowledge that I work and play on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people. As you know, I'm here to talk about Bill C-273, a bill that seeks to repeal section 43 of the Criminal Code. With this, I need to state first and foremost that the federation fully endorses all TRC calls to action, including call to action number six. We also fully condemn any form of corporal punishment. That being said, the federation cannot support this legislation passing unamended. The risk of unintended consequences that could make classrooms more unsafe is too great. Teachers need to be able to physically intervene in certain classroom situations. This is the reality of dealing with complex classrooms with complex needs. I'm sharing my time today with teacher colleague Tesa Fiddler. Tesa is a member of the federation's advisory committee on indigenous education, and she's also a member of Education International's indigenous reference group, so I'm really pleased to present Tesa.

212 words

C-273, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (Corinne's Quest and the protection of children)

Ms. Tesa Fiddler (Member, Advisory Committee on Indigenous Education, Canadian Teachers' Federation)

11:06:09 a.m.
Watch
Read Aloud

Meegwetch, Heidi. Tesa Fiddler, nindizhinikaaz. I am a first nations educator, registered to Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug in Treaty 9. I'm also connected through my father to the traditional territory of Onigaming First Nation in Treaty 3. My family and I have lived and worked in Thunder Bay, Ontario, for the last 26 years, and we raise our family there. First, I would like to acknowledge that I'm grateful to the Anishinabe Algonquin people, whose land I'm visiting here, for being caretakers of this territory since time immemorial and for allowing us to do this work here. As an indigenous educator with close to 30 years of experience—I couldn't believe it when I read that—and as someone who is deeply committed to supporting the act of reconciliation, I'm here to speak about the necessity of amending Bill C-273. I want to assure the committee and other individuals who are committed to repealing section 43 that I also recognize the significance and the importance of making this important change to the Criminal Code. I personally honour and respect the calls to action. As a second-generation survivor of residential schools—my mother attended Poplar Hill, and my father attended Cecilia Jeffrey—the calls to action have significance to me both personally and professionally. As a witness to violence myself, I would never condone any form of violence in homes, classrooms or other institutions. I have the utmost respect for the Honourable Murray Sinclair and the many individuals who courageously led the TRC and provided this country with a guide to improving relations between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. I am not here to disagree with the repeal of section 43. I am here to request that you consider the suggestions that teaching experts bring forward, suggestions that will continue to protect students and their educators. Over my career, I've worked with students who have complex needs, and I've been a mentor to many teachers and educators who deal with complex classroom issues. We have students with autism and FASD, students with problems regulating temper, students with histories of violence and exposure to trauma. In an ideal world, there would be more support for students in difficult situations, and educators would get the support we need to deal with these complex student profiles and situations in the classroom. The sad reality is that it is not there, so passing Bill C-273 without an amendment will make an already challenging job more challenging. These are the realities that all educators, including indigenous educators, are facing. We have very complex community situations right now. We are in crisis with the well-being of our children. As a parent of a child with complex special needs, I recognize the challenges that our communities and our families are facing. It really is a disadvantage to children and to educators to repeal this section and not be making the amendments that are needed to protect children. Meegwetch.

503 words

C-273, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (Corinne's Quest and the protection of children)

The Chair

11:09:56 a.m.
Watch
Read Aloud

Thank you for your opening remarks. I now give the floor to Mr. Joly, executive director of the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers.

24 words

SoVote

House Committee