Children’s rights get short shrift
It has been 25 years since the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was established and almost 23 years since Canada ratified this international human rights treaty, but we still have a long way to go in implementing it fully in Canada.
Rights in the convention fall under three areas: Provision of food, clothing, shelter, education, health care and other services to help them develop to their full potential; protection from abuse, neglect and threats to their dignity, survival and development; and the right to participate in decisions that affect them by being at the centre of planning and having opportunities to share their thoughts on these decisions.
The idea that children have rights is sometimes seen as problematic — rights have often been characterized in our society negatively as demands for things unearned rather than as the basic needs that must be met for us to live, thrive and develop to our full potential.
In fact, all children and youth do have rights and respecting these rights is fundamental to ensuring that we live in the kind of just, equitable and free society that Canadians value.
While we have made considerable strides, as a society we are violating the rights of children and youth regularly. We see evidence of this in calls that come into our office. It is clear that children living in poverty often lack the resources to develop to their full potential — that is why we are so concerned that two-thirds of status First Nations children in Saskatchewan are living in poverty.
The Saskatchewan Advocate for Children and Youth, which was established on Nov. 7, 1994, has provided children and youth with an independent voice for the past 20 years, advocating to uphold their rights, interests and well-being in policy, practice and legislation. We are one of many advocating for children and youth in Saskatchewan.
In 2007, our office developed the Saskatchewan Child and Youth First Principles as a shorter version of the UN Convention to provide guidance on making services and systems child and youth centred. In February 2009 the Saskatchewan government adopted these principles in response to our investigation on foster home overcrowding as part of their child welfare transformation.
With the Child Welfare Review in 2010 and the Child and Family Agenda launched in 2011, the provincial government has increased attention on issues facing children, youth and families in Saskatchewan. Recently the government announced its intention to develop a poverty reduction strategy. If it’s developed and implemented in a comprehensive way, I believe this should help us advance the goals of the Saskatchewan Child and Family Agenda: Children get a good start in life; youth are prepared for their future; families are strong; and communities are supportive — all of which are well aligned with respecting children’s rights.
We will continue to urge our government to set priorities and make investments that will respect children’s rights and improve their living conditions. I want to see the Children and Youth First Principles in the revised Child and Family Services Act, which is currently under review.
I also want to see a similar level of commitment to our children and youth from the federal government, whose leaders are responsible for services to children, youth and families on reserves. The Canadian Council of Child and Youth Advocates, of which we are a member, is calling on Ottawa to address the dire economic and social conditions of aboriginal children and youth. We believe this is our No. 1 human rights issue in Canada.
We have witnessed and participated in many events where we have seen a strong sense of empowerment in aboriginal people: Idle No More, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the First Nations Family and Caring Society’s discrimination case against the federal government being heard at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and demands for a national inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women.
It is encouraging to see that many non-aboriginal Canadians recognize that our society’s violation of the rights of aboriginal peoples is appalling and unacceptable.
Today’s children and youth have lived their whole lives with the convention in effect, yet many of us know little about it.
It is time to change that. I urge all of us to learn more about children’s rights and add our voices to the many working so these rights are respected, which will benefit us all.