The CCRC welcomes the development of a national youth policy and supports the initiative to consider the views of young people in its development. This is one step toward realizing the rights of young people. In a letter to the Prime Minister, who is also the Minister of Youth, the CCRC recommends two strategic directions: …
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 …
The CCRC calls for three steps to address the concerns related to marijuana use and young people in an Open Letter to Federal and Provincial Governments: Consider all the rights of young people through a Children’s Rights Impact Assessment of Bill C-45 Implement a comprehensive youth strategy, that includes support services as well as public …
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 …
2016 is the 25th Anniversary of Canada’s Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child – time to ask about progress in implementation. Substantive progress in some areas is combined with no action in others, based on recommendations to Canada in the last review of children’s rights in 2012. The CCRC offers this …
Read more “25th Anniversary of Ratification of CRC in Canada: How Are We Doing?”
Assisted Dying: Alternatives to Arbitrary Minimum Age The government has announced that they will hold further consultations on the question of the age of eligibility in the new legal framework for assistance in dying. For now, the proposed bill includes age 18 as a minimum age requirement. The use of arbitrary age limits in many …
Changes to the youth justice system should not be part of the omnibus crime bill. They will put more young people in jail for longer times for lesser crimes. Jails are schools of crime for young people more than they teach young people to be responsible adults. We need a separate debate on youth justice that makes the best interests of children a top priority.