Healthy Conditions for Growing Up in Canada

The right to health in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 24, is helpful in Canada because it highlights the importance of the social determinants of health for children.  Canada’s report for the 5th/6th review of children’s rights recognizes vulnerable groups of children but pays too little attention to the conditions in …

Children’s Commissioner: Accountability in Children’s Rights

The Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children (CCRC) welcomes a renewed focus on the need for a national children’s commissioner, which re-started today with the introduction of a private member’s bill by MP Anne Minh-Thu Quach.  “The current lack of accountability for implementation of children’s rights across Canada is a major gap in good …

Pieces Need a Coherent Plan for Children: Budget 2019

Children will benefit from some of the new initiatives included in the 2019 Federal Budget.  But the lack of a coherent policy framework means that children will also continue to fall through the cracks of a patchwork of programs.  Each one addresses a part of what children need to develop their full potential; there is …

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Government Report on Children’s Rights in Canada Needs More Analysis

Canada’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 …

Raise the Bar for Children’s Rights: Next Steps

More 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 …

Children and youth have a right to an advocate

November 15, 2018 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Children and youth have a right to an advocate – they also desperately need one  Ottawa, ON – As organizations deeply committed to the well-being of children and children’s rights, we express our concern with the decision of the Ontario government to eliminate the position of the Provincial Child Advocate. …

Children at the Center of New Family Law

Bill 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 …