Author: Kathy Vandergrift
Preventing Homelessness and Children’s Rights
July 22, 2019Canada can do more to prevent youth homelessness, according to research with youth on the street. Waiting until young people are in crisis is costly in human impact and finances. Addressing the issues that contribute to youth homelessness coincides with implementing the rights of children. This is another area where paying attention to children’s rights […]
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Speak Up for Children in 2019 Election
July 12, 2019Children are not allowed to vote but they will be affected by the results of the upcoming federal election. Everyone can speak up to ensure that children’s policies are part of the public discussion this fall. It is timely because 2019 is the 30th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Children […]
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Climate Change in Canada and Children’s Rights
June 28, 2019Update on June 28, 2019: Today the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that the federal government has a mandate to address climate change on behalf of all the people in Canada and that a national carbon pricing program falls within the legitimate constitutional powers of the federal government. This ruling reflects the evidence presented by […]
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Healthy Conditions for Growing Up in Canada
June 19, 2019The right to health in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 24, is helpful in Canada because it highlights the importance of the social determinants of health for children. Canada’s report for the 5th/6th review of children’s rights recognizes vulnerable groups of children but pays too little attention to the conditions in […]
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Closing Gaps: All Rights, All Children
May 24, 2019Canada has a patchwork of policies for children. The result is that some children fall through the cracks of fragmented support systems. Children need a more coherent approach to public policies that affect their ability to develop their full potential. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, which all governments in Canada have ratified, […]
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Child Welfare and Children’s Rights: Reform needed in federal and provincial systems
May 1, 2019Child welfare systems in Canada are not working for many children. Both federal and provincial systems need major reform. Recommendations have been made in numerous reports over the years, but they have often resulted in tinkering rather than reform. Now is the time for action. At the federal level, Bill C-92 introduces significant reforms for […]
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Children’s Commissioner: Accountability in Children’s Rights
April 2, 2019The Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children (CCRC) welcomes a renewed focus on the need for a national children’s commissioner, which re-started today with the introduction of a private member’s bill by MP Anne Minh-Thu Quach. “The current lack of accountability for implementation of children’s rights across Canada is a major gap in good […]
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