There will be no recovery from Covid-19 without a recovery for children. The CCRC proposes a Five-Step Plan for inclusion in the Throne Speech, to be presented on September 23, 2020.
While protecting children dominated the emergency phase of Covid-19, realizing children’s rights to develop and contribute to society will contribute to recovery for parents and society as well.
Good governance for children is critical and missing in Canada. The CCRC plan responds to what we are learning from Covid-19:
- Multiple factors affect children’s well-being and they are connected; public policies that recognize those connections are essential.
- Closing gaps is essential to prevent children from falling through fragmented systems of social support for children and families.
- The current approach to federalism does not work well for children and families; improving it through greater coherence will benefit children and all of society.
The experience of other comparable countries shows that implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child results in better outcomes for children than Canada shows in international reports on the well-being of children.
The CCRC Five-step Plan, based on children’s rights, focuses on improving governance for children within Canada’s federal system of governance. It will benefit children, families, and Canada as a whole.
Build Back Better: Five Step Plan to Govern Well for Children
1. Child-centered Coherence: Council of Ministers for Children with Plans, Targets, Timelines.
From child care to transition to adulthood, coherent policies will support children better. See policy areas in full document.
2. Accountability: National Commissioner and provincial Children’s Advocates
3. Deadline for Compliance on Rights Claims of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit Children
4. Right to Healthy Environment: Impacts for youth centered in Climate Change Plan
5. Lower the Voting Age
Read the full plan for details.