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United Nations
Committee on the Rights of the Child
Geneva, Switzerland

September 17, 2003

Introduction

Mr. Chair, before I begin my statement I would like to express Canada's appreciation for the critical role this Committee plays in the ongoing struggle to promote and protect children's human rights around the world. We value the opportunity to respond to your questions today.

I am Senator Landon Pearson, a long-time advocate for children's rights in Canada, and the Personal Representative of Prime Minister Jean Chretien to the Special Session on Children of the United Nations General Assembly. I am also an advisor to Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs on children's rights.

We are pleased to be here to discuss Canada's Second Report under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, covering the period from January 1993 to December 1997, as well as initiatives since then, which have been highlighted in a supplementary document provided to the Committee.

Statement

To begin my statement, I want to express Canada's strong commitment to promoting and safeguarding the rights of our children - and, indeed the rights of all Canadians - in an effective and meaningful way. This commitment is long term and of paramount concern for all levels of government across Canada.

This broad national commitment requires us to be ever vigilant in reviewing and assessing our progress for children and in taking positive collaborative measures. Our Second Report under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and, indeed, the many new initiatives undertaken since the end of the Report period, reflect this commitment.

Today I want to highlight a number of initiatives undertaken since the Committee issued its Concluding Observations following Canada's first Convention report. The Committee recommended particular attention to children living in poverty; children's rights in immigration; and vulnerable groups such as Aboriginal children.

Since that time, many of Canada's initiatives have resulted in concrete advances for children. I want to assure the Committee that the Government of Canada is committed to producing better results through continued action to improve the lives of children.

We know that there is need for further improvement. This is why we welcome an open dialogue and exchange with the Committee. We are confident that this process will yield constructive results to help us improve our efforts on behalf of Canada's children.

The Canadian Context

Mr. Chair, the importance we place on the Convention and the measures we are taking to protect and promote children's rights are tied to the nature of Canada itself.

We are a diverse country in many respects. Our population is spread across a vast geography, with regional differences in language, economic base and demography. We have large rural areas and densely populated urban centres. We are a bilingual, multicultural, multiethnic and multiracial society.

Canada's approximately eight million children include many immigrant children. They also include a substantial number of young Aboriginal children, who make up the fastest growing segment of our child population.

While the challenges we face in safeguarding and fully realizing children's Convention rights are not unique, our responses to these challenges are often unique. They reflect Canadian realities and a distinctly Canadian context.

We are proud of our achievements and our ability to take a leadership role in many endeavours. But we are also aware that we have a responsibility to adapt to changing realities ..... and to move forward at an unrelenting pace if we are to ensure that the goals and principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child are fully realized across Canadian society.

Implementation of the CRC

Canada's approach to the implementation of the CRC is multi-faceted, including constitutional protections under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, legislation, policies, programs, and public education.

As you are aware, Canada is a federal state with legislative and executive powers split between the federal and provincial governments. Some children's rights matters fall under federal jurisdiction .... others under provincial and territorial jurisdiction .... and some are shared by both jurisdictions.

In a federal state such as Canada, there may sometimes be differences in how services are delivered in the various jurisdictions. We believe these differences can make a positive contribution to the protection of children's rights in Canada. This is because federalism encourages a variety of perspectives to be brought forward. Our federal system also allows governments to take into account particular conditions within their jurisdictions as they determine appropriate modes of intervention for children.

All governments in Canada are well aware of their obligations under the Convention and take them seriously. This reflects a broader movement toward increased collaboration and coordination across all levels of government to ensure more effective social policies for Canadians. We've made significant inroads in this regard since 1997 with the introduction of a Social Union Framework Agreement that guides intergovernmental cooperation on social policy in Canada. Children in poverty are acknowledged as one of our first priorities.

Since our last reporting period, the Government of Canada has worked harder than ever to address child poverty. In 1998 the Government introduced the National Child Benefit, which aims at preventing and reducing child poverty by investing in the economic health of families.

As a result of this investment, the incidence of low-income among families with children in Canada has dropped from close to 16 percent in 1996 to 11.4 percent in 2000. Building on this success, the Government recently introduced a long-term investment plan to increase National Child Benefit supplements for low-income families by $965 million-per-year by 2007.

To help children reach their full potential, and to support families with children, Canada's federal, provincial and territorial governments adopted shared priorities in the area of early childhood development. In support of these priorities, the Government of Canada is transferring $500 million per year to provinces and territories to expand and improve early childhood development programs and services.

Most recently, federal, provincial and territorial governments announced a Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care. Through this framework the Government of Canada is providing $900 million over five years to provincial and territorial governments. The money is being used to improve access to affordable, quality, regulated early learning and child care programs and services. These governments will report annually on their progress in improving access to such programs.

In Canada, the federal level of government is directly responsible for many programs relating to Aboriginal children and youth. One early investment program that has had a profound effect on children is our Aboriginal Head Start program. This comprehensive early childhood development program for Aboriginal children and their families living in urban centres and large Northern communities has grown substantially since its inception in 1995. It now serves 3,500 children in 114 communities across Canada. In 1998 the program was expanded to include on-reserve children. The on-reserve program currently serves 7,700 children in 265 communities. Last year the Government of Canada significantly increased its investment in both programs, increasing the budget of the urban program by more than 35 percent and the on-reserve program by more than 80 percent.

These early childhood programs have recently been complemented by new initiatives such as a Special Education Program that will invest close to $250 million over the next three years to enable First Nations students living on-reserve to access special education programs and services of a standard comparable with those of other Canadians. The Post-Secondary Education Program continues with support for approximately 26,000 students this school year with a total budget of $304 million.

In the area of child protection, Canada's long-term priority remains consistent: to ensure that children are adequately protected against all forms of victimization - including victimization through abuse and sexual exploitation. Since the end of our last reporting period numerous criminal law reforms have been enacted to strengthen our protection of children against exploitation through prostitution and child pornography. These reforms include measures to ensure that the criminal justice system better reflects the unique needs and realities of children as victims and witnesses in criminal proceedings.

Another significant child protection measure is Canada's 2002 Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. The Act includes a new trafficking in persons offence. This new offence provides for severe penalties: fines of up to $1 million and potential imprisonment for life. Canada has also been a leader in global child protection issues, playing a key role in developing international accords on children's rights related to child labour, sexual exploitation and child combatants. And when we hosted the International Conference on War-Affected Children in Winnipeg in 2000, we broke new ground by including young people as active, decision-making delegates.

This emphasis on respecting children's rights to be consulted is a centrepiece of legislative measures ensuring children's broader participation rights. One legislative measure in which young people were involved is Canada's new Youth Criminal Justice Act. Canadian youth helped both develop and implement this Act, which contains a specific guarantee that young persons have the right to be heard and participate in processes that lead to decisions that affect them.

Similarly, the new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act for example takes into account the best interest of the child throughout and extends provisions for designating a representative for minors in all proceedings before Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board.

There is growing recognition among Canadians of the need to remove barriers in society for children and adults with disabilities so that they may have the same access to opportunities as other citizens. For example, recently the Government of Ontario, Canada's most populous province, passed comprehensive legislation - the Ontarians with Disabilities Act - to help remove barriers and to create a more inclusive and accessible society for citizens of all ages.

A final initiative I want to highlight today is Canada's National Plan of Action for Children, which is currently identifying priorities for action and mechanisms for promoting children's rights and monitoring progress by all actors in Canada including young people. The National Plan of Action will further ensure Canada's progress in meeting its Convention obligations. We will share the Plan, and the challenges and results of its implementation, in future reports to the Committee.

Conclusion

Mr. Chair and members of the Committee, I have reached the end of my remarks and wish to leave you with a final message: Canada is deeply committed to promoting and safeguarding the rights of our children, realizing that we still have much work to do to fully achieve the Convention ideals and principles across Canadian society. We have invested years of effort to improve conditions for children in Canada and we will continue to work hard for our children .... striving to learn from our own and others' experiences .... and to develop and share tangible and innovative initiatives to advance children's rights.

Again, we wish to express our gratitude to the Committee for its work. I thank you for your courtesy in considering my remarks. We look forward to hearing the Committee's response to our efforts to protect and promote children's rights in Canada.