Youth Policy for Canada

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: …

Criminal Justice Reform and Children’s Rights

Children in Canada have less protection against violence than adults do.  Current plans to reform Canada’s criminal justice system provide an opportunity to make the right of children to be free from all forms of violence, Article 19 in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, part of Canadian law.    Stated plans to …

Family Law Reform and Children’s Rights

Children are affected when their parents go through a divorce, but their rights are not well-protected in Canada’s current family laws.  The CCRC welcomes plans to modernize the law and expand the unified family court system.  Stronger protection for the rights of children should be central to this process.  It is also an opportunity for …

Progress for Children’s Rights in the Business Sector

Canada announced this week that a new ombudsperson will be appointed to investigate violations of human rights by Canadian businesses operating globally.  This is a positive response to part of one recommendation that Canada received after the last review of children’s rights in Canada.  The new office will focus first on the extractive sector, but …

Change Promised for Implementation of Children’s Rights in Canada

Children’s rights in Canada may benefit from a Ministerial Meeting on Human Rights, held on December 11, 2017.  Ministers from federal, provincial, and territorial governments agreed that the current system for implementing international human rights obligations in Canada is “out-dated” and “needs modernization.”  This was the first Ministerial level meeting on human rights in Canada …

Housing and Children’s Rights

There are two signs of substantive progress in the National Housing Strategy, released on November 22, 2017.  First is the strong focus on housing for vulnerable groups, including low-income families with children, a specific focus on children affected by family violence, and indigenous housing.  Details and dollar amounts are pending, but the direction of the …