Monitoring Canada and the UNCRC

How well are children’s rights in education fulfilled across Canada?  In a discussion paper, the CCRC reviews the recommendations Canada received during its last review of children’s rights, notes some indicators of progress, and suggests what we hope to see in the next report, which will be submitted in July 2018. In particular, Canada was asked to inform children of their rights through the education system and the use of government websites.  This paper looks at provincial curriculum guides and federal government websites as indicators of progress. In addition, it highlights issues in equitable access and the kind of education described in Article 29.

This paper is part of preparing for the next review.  The CCRC invites discussion and feedback from readers who have experience or interest in this area of children’s rights in Canada.

The rights of children with disabilities received attention during the first review of how Canada implements the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.  The Concluding Observations includes recommendations relating to: inclusive education and teacher training; services for parents so disability is not a reason to put a child in care; access to services for indigenous children with disabilities; attention to disabilities in the proposed poverty reduction strategy, and others.   Several recommendations are similar to those for the Convention on the Rights of Children, including: data collection; federal-provincial cooperation; and monitoring progress.  For this Convention, it is recommended that the Canadian Human Rights Commission take on the role of monitoring progress.  Another area of common interest are negotiations to ratify a complaints process.  The CCRC advocates for a complaints process for children’s rights as well.

Governments in Canada are starting to prepare for the next review of children’s rights and so is the CCRC.  July 2018 is the deadline for Canada to submit an official report on implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Canada.  A key focus is action on the recommendations Canada received in 2012.  Many of the recommendations reflected proposals made by the CCRC in its alternative report.

Action on the previous recommendations will be the focus of a CCRC campaign in the fall.   The first step is collecting information from young people’s organizations across the country.  The CCRC is looking for information and analysis that relates to all aspects of children’s rights in Canada. This will inform the fall campaign in Canada before the official report and an alternative report for use by the UN Committee when they review Canada’s record.

Read about the CCRC plans and how to become part of this process.  This is the way to hold our governments accountable for progressive realization of children’s rights across Canada.  Previous reports and updates are available on the  Children’s Rights Monitoring Page.

To Build a “Strong, Fair Canada Built for Change” We Need Strong, Fair Childhoods Built for Change

Canada aspires to be an innovation nation, a focus of the commercial and social investments in Federal Budget 2017. It’s a vision to create better livelihoods and an economy that thrives in a rapidly changing world. To get there, we have to create the conditions in which our children and youth develop, learn, adapt and continue what they are great at – innovation.

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Young people benefit from work experience, but they can also be exploited in the workplace.  Knowing about the rules, their rights, and how to report unsafe working conditions or unfair treatment is essential for all young people.  The Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children (CCRC) is asking all governments, federal and provincial, to ensure that Canada is fulfilling its duties for young people in the workplace.  One step is to inform young people across the country about their rights before Canada’s ratification of International Labour Organization Convention 138 comes into effect in June 2017. High rates of workplace injuries for young people indicate a need for improvement in the area of safety. Research done by the CCRC shows that improvements are needed in all provinces to fully protect the workplace rights of young people.

A Fact sheet provides an overview of the issues and recommendations for action.  A Working Paper provides analysis for each province and steps needed to fully implement the workplace-related provisions in Convention on the Rights of the Child, ILO 138, and ILO 182.

This is the first in a series of updates the CCRC is doing in 2017 to follow up on Canada’s last review under the Convention and prepare for the next review in 2018.