Kathy Vandergrift, Author at Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children

Path to Progress for Children: Recommendations for Canada

by Kathy VandergriftMonitoring Canada and the UNCRC October 10, 2012March 29, 2017No Comments

The Concluding Observations from the third review of children’s rights in Canada include recommendations for action that would greatly improve conditions for children in Canada. The CCRC will be pursuing implementation of these recommendations. Watch for a user-friendly summary and more detailed analysis in the days ahead. One reaction to evidence that some children in Canada …

Debate on National Advocate for Children in Parliament

by Kathy VandergriftMonitoring Canada and the UNCRC October 5, 2012September 10, 2018No Comments

A private member’s bill to establish a national advocate for children, Bill C-420, was debated for one hour this week. The next hour of debate is scheduled for November 5. It is surprising to hear members of parliament say it is not necessary to have a national advocate for children one week after the UN …

Reintegration Focus for Omar Khadr

by Kathy VandergriftVulnerable Children October 5, 2012September 10, 2018No Comments

Now that Omar Khadr is back in Canada, a reintegration plan should be the top priority. The first step is a full assessment of health and education needs, working with him to develop a plan that will allow him to develop his skills, and then implementing it. Canada was the first country to ratify the Optional …

Children’s Rights Could Improve Federalism

by Kathy VandergriftMonitoring Canada and the UNCRC September 27, 2012September 10, 2018No Comments

Dialogue between Canadian government officials and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child revealed many gaps in support for some children in Canada to develop their full potential. The lack of coherence in policies that affect children was highlighted when the committee, composed of experts in child development and children’s rights, reviewed reports …

Children before federalism

by Kathy VandergriftMonitoring Canada and the UNCRC September 27, 2012September 10, 2018No Comments

Today marked the end of Canada’s third and final session in Geneva in front of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Canadian delegates had a final opportunity to answer and clarify questions from the committee. The committee posed questions on Canada’s education system, universal childcare, the over representation of Indigenous and minority …

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Today’s Session Poses Important Questions for Canada

by Kathy VandergriftMonitoring Canada and the UNCRC September 26, 2012September 10, 2018No Comments

Canada restated its commitment to promote and protect children’s rights. Questions from members of the UN Committeee on the Rights of the Child, however, highlighted that Canada will need to make changes to put that into practice. How, asked the committee, can Canada make sure that actions by all levels of government work together in the best …

Live blog of Child Rights Committee Hearing

by Kathy VandergriftMonitoring Canada and the UNCRC September 24, 2012September 10, 2018No Comments

CCRC and our child rights experts provided live blogging of Canada’s appearance before the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on September 26 and 27. The live webcast of the review was from 9am to 12pm EST on September 26th and 4am to 7am/9am to 12pm EST on September 27th at www.treatybodywebcast.org . The …