Calgary student to help frame children’s charter
Ottawa conference to focus on protecting kids’ rights and promoting their well-being
Young people from across the country, including a 17-year-old Calgarian, will gather in the nation’s capital this month to help create the long-discussed Canadian Children’s Charter.
Toney Bedell, a student at Crescent Heights High School in Calgary, will be among 30 young people invited to discuss and frame the charter in a wide-ranging conference in Ottawa on Nov. 21 and 22.
Canada doesn’t have a children’s charter, but organizers hope this new document will help bring about an increased commitment from politicians and society as a whole for the protection of children’s rights and the promotion of their collective well-being.
This move is led by Children First Canada, an organization that Calgarian Sara Austin played a large role in launching. It is helping bring together leading child and youthfocused groups that support kids, as well as the selected 30 youngsters who will forge the charter over two days of discussions.
Bedell, who was born in Senegal in West Africa and spent much of his early life in Nova Scotia before his parents moved to Calgary a couple of years ago, already has served on numerous youth-led committees and councils in the city dedicated to community outreach, including the Mayor’s Youth Council, the Youth of Distinction Awards Steering Committee and the Big Brothers, Big Sisters organization.
“I’ve always had a passion for reaching out to kids who have otherwise no voice or involvement in citywide issues,” said Bedell. “I have this feeling of, ‘what if I was in a position without a voice or proper representation? What would I want someone to do for me and how would I want my voice heard?’
“I think a children’s charter is needed to provide a uniform framework for how children in our society should be treated and viewed. It is necessary to inform children of their rights and hold governments responsible for the abuses made to these rights.”
Several years ago, Alberta was on the verge of creating its own children’s rights charter, but the initiative was shelved with the change in government, said Austin, who remains on the board of Children First and was recently appointed CEO of the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre in Calgary.
She said most Canadians assume this country is among the best places in the world in which to be a young person, but statistics compiled by UNICEF suggest otherwise.
“We are lagging behind other wealthy nations. Most Canadians think we are one of the best places to raise a child when, in fact, UNICEF ranks Canada 25th out of 41 affluent countries when it comes to children’s well-being.”
“One in five children is living in poverty and that hasn’t budged in two decades, the same is true with high rates of child abuse — one in three kids experience this — and then there are child health issues. This led us to attempt to bring together children advocates, hospitals and private companies under one umbrella to raise awareness about the urgent needs of children in Canada and mobilize our government in particular to take action,” said Austin.
The format of the meetings will allow the invited kids to meet on their own for the first day to hash out a vision of how they see the situation improving and what should be included in a charter, before they are joined on Day 2 by various other stakeholders to frame a final document.
“There is a need for a common vision for what every kid in our country deserves and a plan to get there. That was how the idea of a children’s charter came about. This will not be a legal document but a rallying cry,” she added.
Austin has met Bedell several times and describes the young man as a remarkable individual who will bring a lot of the discussion.
The young Calgarian can’t wait to attend.
“One of my favourite things is meeting new people and joining in new conversations. Going to the youth conference will be like taking what I’ve enjoyed in meeting people from different backgrounds in Calgary and putting that on steroids,” he said.
Bedell is focused on becoming a medical doctor once he finishes high school, although his ultimate goal is to become involved in politics.
Most Canadians think we are one of the best places to raise a child when, in fact, UNICEF ranks Canada 25th out of 41 affluent countries when it comes to children’s well-being.