Speaking Notes

For

Ken Dryden, Minister of Social Development

Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights

Rights and Freedoms of Children

Ottawa, Ontario

September 26, 2005

Thank you, Madame Chair, for inviting me here today. The Senate of Canada and Senate committees have played a prominent role in studying and making recommendations on important social issues. I am pleased to be here as part of your review of Canada's international obligations with respect to the rights and freedoms of children and I congratulate you for undertaking this work.

I would also like to talk a little about the efforts of Senator Pearson. For many years, as we all know, Landon Pearson has been a tireless defender of children and a tireless advocate for children – Canadian children and children around the world. Senator Pearson loves children, believes in children, and believes in the future. She wants for children something better. We are all lucky to be the beneficiaries of her work and joy.

As Canadians, we have certain understandings about what it is to be Canadian, what we expect of ourselves and for ourselves, what we expect of and for others. As Canadians, we expect a chance and a second chance. We expect the opportunity of a full, rich, rewarding life.

For some, this doesn't happen easily. Because of illness or accident, disability, poverty, age, because of personal or family circumstance, because of something that puts us behind when the race begins or somewhere along its way. At Social Development Canada, it is our job to see the gaps between those understandings we have as Canadians and what is; and with others, to do something about them.

So, what are we doing?

In 1990, along with five other countries, Canada took the lead in organizing the World Summit for Children. Then, a year later, on December 13, 1991, Canada ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In doing so, we in Canada affirmed our understandings and expectations for children, and we affirmed our commitment to work with governments and civil society to promote the well-being and healthy development of children around the world.

As you have heard from previous witnesses, putting the Convention into action is not the work of any one department or agency, but cuts across Government of Canada departments, across governments at every level, and across society. Other Ministers and government officials have appeared before you to speak on how Canada's international commitments are delineated within the domestic context. I would like to tell you what Social Development Canada is doing to improve the well-being of children and families in Canada.

Social Development Canada was created in December 2003, inheriting from other departments a set of policies, programs and services, and the values and motivations that generated them, for seniors, persons with disabilities, caregivers, and for children and families. SDC's purpose is to take all that we have inherited and to build on it – to strengthen Canada's social foundations by ensuring income security and social well-being; always speaking to the expectations and understandings we have as Canadians.

In terms of children, the National Children's Agenda, in the late 1990s, was created to lay out the overarching vision, goals, and areas for collaborative action to ensure that children have the best possible start in life, and have the necessary opportunities to realize their full potential. The NCA was the result of extensive consultation with stakeholders, Aboriginal organizations, and Canadian citizens, and represented, at the time, a new era of federal-provincial collaboration.

Seven years later in May 2004, consistent with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Government of Canada reaffirmed its commitment to children and families with the release of A Canada Fit for Children, making these commitments more concrete and clear.

For healthy child development, the Government of Canada and Social Development Canada recognize that there needs to be adequate income, effective parenting and supportive communities. Our policies, programs and approach are based on this.

First, in terms of Adequate Income – in 2003-2004, the Government of Canada, through the Canada Child Tax Benefit and the National Child Benefit Supplement for low-income families, provided $8.2 billion to help 3.1 million families with the costs of raising their children.

Exact cause and effect is hard to measure, but our most recent analysis, which looks at the year 2001 when the NCB was slightly lower, gives us a glimpse of what the NCB can do. It indicates that the National Child Benefit reduced the number of children living in low-income families by 8.9 per cent - or by 94,800 children in 40,700 families. In addition, for those families with children who remained in low-income circumstances, the NCB reduced their low-income gap by 12.3 per cent and increased their average disposable income by about $900, or 5.5 per cent.

Further, for low and modest income families who have a child with a disability, the Child Disability Benefit provides them up to $2,000 annually as a supplement of the Canada Child Tax Benefit.

What all this means in real terms is that a family earning less than $30,000 a year, with two kids, receives $3980 a year (for both) and an additional $2,000 a year if one of their children has a severe disability.

Second, in terms of Effective Parenting, to help parents in their crucial role, Social Development Canada also supports a range of program and services through transfers to provincial and territorial governments.

For example, under the 2000 Early Childhood Development Agreement, the Government of Canada transfers $500 million a year to support improvement and expansion of early childhood development programs and services.

It is also transferring $350 million a year under the 2003 Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care. to improve access to regulated early learning and child care programs for young children.

And last February's Budget went even further, confirming a commitment of $5 billion over five years to a system of early learning and child care across the country. To a system of higher quality, that is more developmental, that is more accessible and inclusive.

The provinces and territories and the federal government have worked together to develop a shared vision for early learning and childcare, and I have been working with provinces and territories on bi-lateral agreements -in- principle that will move this vision to a reality. Six provinces have signed these agreements so far and we expect the remainder to do so in the weeks and months ahead.

To put this latest initiative in perspective, the $5 billion over five years represents an increase on what all levels of government are currently spending on child care of 48 per cent. For the nine provinces exclusive of Quebec, and three territories, it is an 82 -per- cent increase. These efforts will have a significant impact on children and their parents.

As part of the $5 billion over five years, $100 million will be spent to improve ELCC for First Nations children on reserve.

Another $100 million will be used for a knowledge, information and data strategy, to track progress, guide the development and raise the standard of, and deliver on the right ambitions for, early learning and child care in Canada.

Third, in terms of Supportive Communities: Childhood experiences, of course, are influenced strongly by the communities in which children live, play and learn. Through the Understanding the Early Years initiative, we are helping to provide communities with information on the "readiness to learn" of their children. This program began in 1999 as a pilot project in 12 communities, is expanding to 25 more communities this year and, over time, will be expanded to 100.

In addition, our Social Development Partnerships Program funds projects that enhance the capacity of non-profit and voluntary sector organizations – to engage in research projects, for example, on issues related to child development and early learning.

As well, under the Action Plan for Official Languages, Social Development Canada is investing in two initiatives to promote early childhood development in official language minority communities.

Social Development Canada works to support children in other ways. It is engaged internationally on children's issues as a member of international organizations and through our bilateral relationships with other countries. This engagement takes many forms and includes the sharing of experiences and research that supports ongoing policy and program development in Canada. As well, work with international organizations assists the development and use of benchmarks and standards that help measure progress in Canada.

Social Development Canada also works with provinces and territories and other federal partners to ensure that the rights of children are protected during inter-country adoptions.

All this is what we do. How well our children do is in some part because of this, but in much greater part because of how our families do, how our economy does, because of how our society does. And we measure all this through the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth and the forthcoming Aboriginal Children's Survey.

The question, for your committee, the question for Social Development Canada, is how we can do better. As I said at the beginning of my remarks, as Canadians, we have certain understandings about what it is to be Canadian. What we expect of ourselves and for ourselves, what we expect of and for others. And for our children, in their health and security, their living conditions and circumstances, in their education and learning, we expect a chance. A good chance. And a second chance. How do we ensure that they get it?

For all of our history, we have been a country of immense space and distances – east and west, north and south. We were once and still are a country of immense resources. And most importantly, we're a country of immense possibilities. A country that is still in the making, still in the becoming.

We knew once, we know now, that whatever we once were, whatever we are now, we will be much more tomorrow. After more than half a century of great change, of the rise of Japan, China, India and the Far East, of the rebirth of Europe, of the fall of the Berlin Wall, of the advance of globalism, of rises and falls everywhere, this is still our story.

We are an optimistic place. We are a place fundamentally oriented to the future. We do not believe that today's adult represents the ultimate in human possibility. We do not believe that we live in the ultimate Canada, in the ultimate world. We are a place that understands that whatever may happen in the world – good; bad – whatever the trends, with our space, our natural resources, our human resources, with our institutions, our stability, our peace, with our “get along” instincts, we can make any future work.

And fundamental to this optimism, to our belief in the future, to our confidence as a country, are our children. If our children are doing OK, we're doing OK. And we will be OK.

I look forward very much to hearing the views of your committee on how our children can do better, and I look forward to working with you in the weeks and months ahead. I would be pleased to answer your questions.