Did you know that Canada spends less on child development than most similar countries?
Smart countries see spending on child development as an investment. Research shows that it is good economics to invest in a country’s young people. Canada considers spending on children as a financial drain that needs to be minimized to reduce budgets. Helping children develop their full potential is at the heart of the Convention. Failing to give priority to children in the allocation of resources is short-term thinking and costs our country more in the long run.
A recent international comparison of inter-generational fairness ranked Canada low because of low investments in children. Canada does better on indicators for seniors and less well on indicators for children.
Of particular concern for CCRC is low investment in early childhood. International comparisons show Canada invests much less in early childhood than comparable countries. We can do better and we have the resources to do so.
On September 26 Canada will be asked to explain why its spends less when it can afford to do better for our children. The CCRC says fulfilling children’s rights makes good economic sense. For detailed analysis: Enabling Children’s Full Development; Réaliser les droits de tous les enfants au Canada. For summary:Introduction;Introduction (fr)