Children are affected when their parents go through a divorce, but their rights are not well-protected in Canada’s current family laws. The CCRC welcomes plans to modernize the law and expand the unified family court system. Stronger protection for the rights of children should be central to this process. It is also an opportunity for …
Canada’s budget 2018, titled Equality and Growth, adds some important pieces to the patchwork of public policies that support children but leaves gaps and missing pieces that are essential for realizing the rights of all children across the country. Budget 2018 through a children’s rights lens.
Canada announced this week that a new ombudsperson will be appointed to investigate violations of human rights by Canadian businesses operating globally. This is a positive response to part of one recommendation that Canada received after the last review of children’s rights in Canada. The new office will focus first on the extractive sector, but …
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Children’s rights in Canada may benefit from a Ministerial Meeting on Human Rights, held on December 11, 2017. Ministers from federal, provincial, and territorial governments agreed that the current system for implementing international human rights obligations in Canada is “out-dated” and “needs modernization.” This was the first Ministerial level meeting on human rights in Canada …
Read more “Change Promised for Implementation of Children’s Rights in Canada”
There are two signs of substantive progress in the National Housing Strategy, released on November 22, 2017. First is the strong focus on housing for vulnerable groups, including low-income families with children, a specific focus on children affected by family violence, and indigenous housing. Details and dollar amounts are pending, but the direction of the …
Members of the Coalition will celebrate National Child Day with children across the country on November 20, 2017. We also celebrate the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is the reason for this day. This year the CCRC is drawing attention to the potential benefits of the Convention on the Rights of the …
Read more “National Child Day 2017: Children’s Rights Can Make Canada Work Better”
In 2012 Canada was specifically asked to address the high incidence of obesity in children by, among other steps, “ensuring greater regulatory controls over the production and advertisement of fast food and unhealthy foods, especially those targeted to children. (Concluding Observations, paragraph 64, CRC/C/CAN/CO/3-4, page 15) This was one recommendation among many in the last review …