Author: Kathy Vandergrift
Climate Change Court Challenge will hear Children’s Right to Healthy Environment
February 11, 2019Growing up in a healthy environment is an essential part of children’s right to health, under Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Climate change is a serious threat to this right. Governments have a duty to protect the rights of children by taking action on climate change. One responsible action […]
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Government Report on Children’s Rights in Canada Needs More Analysis
February 1, 2019Canada’s 5th-6th report on implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Canada is now filed with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Copies of the report and annexes are available here for your reference. The report shows some progress since the last review. Missing is information on outcomes […]
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The Right to Know Rights, Curriculum Reform, and Parental Rights in Education
December 17, 2018Children’s right to learn about their rights was identified as a top priority during the recent Raise the Bar for Children’s Rights conference, hosted by the CCRC. The benefits of teaching children and parents about children’s rights are evident in research and practice. Fulfilling the Convention in Canada requires scaling up existing good practices so […]
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Raise the Bar for Children’s Rights: Next Steps
November 23, 2018More than one hundred people gathered for two days of learning about children’s rights in Canada. “It was good to come together,” said one participant, “to connect our own work with others and think about all rights for all children in Canada.” The conference brought together people from a wide range of ages, positions, and […]
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Child Welfare Systems and Children’s Rights
November 13, 2018In a new discussion paper, the CCRC is calling for reform of provincial child welfare systems to better respect the rights of children. Recent rulings by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and provincial courts in the Sixties Scoop cases found that both federal and provincial child welfare programs have violated the rights of Indigenous children. […]
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Children at the Center of New Family Law
October 29, 2018Bill C-78 proposes significant changes in the laws that affect children caught up in the separation and/or divorce of their parents and related family court processes. Legislative changes that will make the best interests of the children the paramount consideration for all actors is positive. It makes Canada’s laws more consistent with the Convention on […]
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Children’s Rights in Canada’s Response to the UPR
September 30, 2018Canada received 245 recommendations from other countries to improve how it implements human rights, including children’s rights. The response is a missed opportunity to make and show progress in Canada. It shows that not much has changed in practice, in spite of ministerial level statements about improving implementation in Canada. The forthcoming review of children’s […]
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