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Wednesday July 18

Brian and Amanda are from the United States, while Lynn Johnston is in Canada. Legal structures in Canada are quite different from the U.S. It is appropriate for Lynn to redraw those comic strips. In Canada, the law restricting spanking is a part of the Criminal Code of Canada. In the U.S., laws in this area are maintained by the individual states. Assaulting people in Canada is a crime, with the exception of activity in boxing rings and homes. Section 43 of the Criminal Code criminalizes violence against children if it exceeds "...what is reasonable under the circumstances." A 2004 ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada has limited corporal punishment to very mild force, and only on children from the age of 2 to 12. The court has banned corporal punishment in schools, punishment of developmentally delayed children, and any punishment involving "degrading, inhuman or harmful conduct."

Paul S. Oro Valley, Arizona

You know, I just always figured that Canadian balers worked the other way! =) Kind of like British people driving on the other side of the road.

Angela, Erie, PA