The Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children (CCRC), Justice for Children and Youth (JFCY) and The Groupe de Recherche Interdisciplinaire en droits de l’enfant invite you to attend a 2-day hybrid Official Satellite Event, a part of the 5th World Congress on Justice with Children, titled “Seeking Justice with Children: Canada’s Experience” and International Forum on the Rights of the Child addressing “Access to Justice and the Rights of the Child: Local and Global Experiences” (Full 2-day program can be accessed here).
The national panel taking place on June 2nd, will address the policy reform needed to ensure that children know their rights, and have access to justice and effective remedies when their rights have been violated in Canada.
Dates: June 2-3; Location (hybrid event): In-person at the Université de Moncton; Online: MS Teams
Registration is free but must be made HERE by May 25, 2025; Satellite event presentations will be in English & Forum presentations will be in English and French. There is no simultaneous translation.
June 4 – Official Satellite Event in Montreal hosted and organized by the International Bureau for Children’s Rights (IBCR) – Stay tuned for further details.
9:00-9:45am Atlantic time – Opening
Bruce Adamson, Former Children’s Commissioner for Scotland, “Scotland’s Incorporation of UNCRC: Putting children’s rights at the heart of law, policy, and practice“.
10:00am-12:00pm Atlantic time
Panel 1: Advancing child-centred justice: Discussion on General Comment 27
The panelists prepared written submissions to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) for the purpose of the development of General Comment 27 on children’s rights to access to justice and to an effective remedy. The CRC has now released a draft of General Comment 27 for commentary. This panel will discuss the importance of the final General Comment 27 in the Canadian context and the need for robust protection of children’s access to justice.
Co-Moderators: Youth & Malika Saher, Fondation Dr. Julien, Quebec
- Samira Ahmed, Justice for Children and Youth, Ontario
- Tina Parbhakar, BC Access2Justice, British Columbia
- Christian Whalen, University of New Brunswick, New Brunswick
- Cathy Tempesta, Counsel at the Office of the Children’s Lawyer, Legal Representative from the Canadian Bar Association Child and Youth Section, Ontario
1:15-3:00 pm Atlantic time
Panel 2: Preventing and responding to violence affecting children in the child justice system
This panel will explore the the access to justice challenges counsel and advocates on behalf of children face when: a) assisting child and youth victims of crime; and/or b) representing young persons accused of committing criminal offences under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Co-Moderators: Youth & Hala Mreiwed, PhD, Chair, Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children (CCRC), Ontario
- Amy Ornstein, PhD, IWK Sea-star Child and Youth Advocacy Centre, Nova Scotia
- Stacey Soldier, Lawyer at Cochrane Sinclair, Manitoba
- Brandon Rolle, Director of Legal Services, Criminal and Youth Justice Unit, Nova Scotia
- Hillarie Tasche, Legal Aid Manitoba, Youth Criminal Defense Office, Manitoba
About the organizers for June 2-3:
For over 30 years, the Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children (CCRC) has been the lead national umbrella group of organizations and individuals committed to the full implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in Canada. It pursues its mission through public education, policy analysis, advocacy, and monitoring progress.
Justice for Children and Youth (JFCY) is the only organization in Canada that solely and exclusively provides child rights focussed independent legal advice and representation to children and young people under the age of 18 or over the age of eighteen who are unstably housed or with precarious immigration status.
The Groupe de Recherche Interdisciplinaire en droits de l’enfant is an interdisciplinary research lab at the Université de Moncton which has organized an Annual Summer Course on the Rights of the Child for Canadian and Global Stakeholders over the past 15 years.
About the organizer for June 4:
Founded in 1994, the International Bureau for Children’s Rights (IBCR) is committed to a world in which children’s rights are an everyday reality. Our mission is to strengthen systems of justice and protection for children, and to transform the place of children in our societies, to ensure that children’s rights are a reality, especially for those who face the greatest obstacles in achieving them.