Part I - Introduction

The present report outlines key measures adopted in Canada from January 1998 to December 2007, to enhance implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OP-AC). As Canada updated the Committee on the Rights of the Child during its September 2003 appearance, the primary focus of this report is from October 2003 to December 2007 (with occasional references to developments of special interest since December 2007).

In order to improve the relevance of reporting to United Nations treaty bodies, this report focuses on selected key issues where there have been significant new developments and where information has not already been provided within reports under other treaties to which Canada is a party. Where detailed information is available in other reports, these reports are referred to, but, with few exceptions, the information is not repeated in this report. This report focusses on the following key issues:

General measures of implementation and monitoring;
Social policy issues, including family support and alternative care, violence, abuse, neglect, child care, child poverty, and housing;
Use of minor corrective force and alternatives to physical discipline of children;
Youth justice and detention;
Health, education and culture;
Trafficking and exploitation of children;
Aboriginal, immigrant and refugee children; and
Involvement of children in armed conflict.

These issues were identified through an examination of the 2003 Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child by implicated federal departments and the Continuing Committee of Officials on Human Rights, the principal federal-provincial/territorial (F-P/T) body responsible for intergovernmental consultations and information sharing on the ratification and implementation of international human rights treaties.

The views of over 100 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were sought with respect to the issues to be covered in this report. Organizations were also encouraged to forward the correspondence to other interested organizations. The following organizations responded to the invitation: The Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children; UNICEF Canada; Institute of Marriage and Family Canada; BC Aboriginal Child Care Society; Attawapiskat First Nations Education Authority; First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition; Society for Children and Youth of BC; Canadian Parks and Recreation Association; Adoption Council of Canada; BC Government and Service Employees' Union; Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada; Elizabeth Fry Society of Canada; First Nations Summit; First Nations Education Steering Committee; Pivot Legal Society; National Alliance for Children and Youth; and Health Council of Canadians. Comments received focussed on reporting and follow-up to the Concluding Observations; the need for disaggregated data; enhanced civil society and youth engagement; coordination and monitoring mechanisms; training on the CRC; spending on children (particularly vulnerable populations); health; culture; education; child care; children with disabilities; Aboriginal children; children in armed conflict; child poverty; international development; a national children's commissioner; municipal programs and policies; and youth justice.

Information on significant Canadian jurisprudence relevant to the CRC can be found in Appendix 1 to the present report.

Federal, provincial and territorial governments routinely consult with civil society in the development of legislation, policies and programs that relate to the provisions of the CRC. Examples of such consultations are included in Appendix 2.

Detailed information on the implementation of human rights in Canada and Canadian federalism can be found in Canada's Fourth Report on the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as well as Canada's Core Document.

Overview

During the reporting period, there were improvements in the situation of Canadian children. For example, the number and percentage of children living in low-income homes declined. Some 865,000 children under 18 years of age lived in low-income families in 2004, compared with 1.3 million in 1996. The percentage of children in low-income families fell from a peak of 19 percent in 1996 to 13 percent in 2004. Although challenges remain, governments continue to make concerted efforts to improve the lives of children in Canada and further enhance the implementation of the CRC (www41.statcan.ca/2007/20000/ceb20000_000-eng.htm - see also reports in the "Related information" section on the side bar).

In August 2007, the Government of Canada released its third report on the well -being of Canada's young children aged 0 to 5. The report, based largely on data from 2002-2003, and issued pursuant to the Federal-Provincial/Territorial Early Childhood Development Agreement of 2000, reports on a common set of indicators to provide an overview of the well-being of young children and the families and communities in which they are growing up including development and health indicators (www.socialunion.ca/well_being/2007/en/index.shtml).

10.

Provincial and territorial governments have independent jurisdiction over many aspects of civil life and social well-being, and protection laws and policies are found in all provinces and territories.

11.

For example, with respect to employment of children, each province and territory has laws and regulations prohibiting or restricting the employment of children from work likely to be injurious to their life, health, education, welfare, and physical development. Provincial and territorial legislation provides for mandatory school attendance until at least age 16, restricts hours of work, and sets minimum ages for employment in hazardous occupations or environments. Each government provides for inspectors and appropriate mechanisms to enforce laws in these areas.

12.

With respect to education, all children who have made claims for refugee protection in Canada, including unaccompanied children, are authorized to study at the pre-school, primary and secondary level at no cost.

13.

In 2004, a workshop was held to review the issues and challenges related to ratification of International Labour Organization Convention 138 on Minimum Age for Admission to Employment, which confirmed a high degree of conformity with the Convention's major principles in all Canadian jurisdictions. The Government of Canada and the provincial and territorial governments continue to consider the possible ratification of this Convention.

14.

Initiatives throughout jurisdictions include: enhancements to legislation to recognize the principle of the best interests of the child; enhanced coordination in services for children; and the creation or enhancement of independent oversight bodies responsible for children. These measures are outlined in the individual government reports contained herein.

15.

Most provinces and territories have established independent children's commissioners, advocates or ombudspersons; a list is provided in Appendix 3.

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Statistical Information

16.

In 2007, there were an estimated 6,941,011 children under 18 years of age in Canada. Census data from 2006 indicates that there were 599,945 children under 18 years of age of Aboriginal ancestry in Canada. Appendix 4 contains further detailed statistics on Canadian children, disaggregated by sex, age, province or territory, area of residence, family type, household income level, disability, youth in custody, and Criminal Code offences.

Canada's Reservations to the Convention

17.

The rationale behind Canada's reservations to articles 21 and 37(c) remains unchanged since Canada's last report. In June 2007, the Government of Canada released a consultation paper on the pre-trial detention of youth under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), which raised the issue of whether the Act should prohibit placing youth and adults in the same facility. In 2008, the Government launched a review of the YCJA in which the Minister of Justice met with provincial counterparts, conducted a series of roundtables across Canada, and accepted written submissions from stakeholders and the public on youth justice issues; however, no specific consideration is being given to the removal of Canada's reservation to article 37(c) at this time.

Federal-provincial/territorial collaboration

18.

Federal, provincial and territorial governments collaborate through various F-P/T fora on legislation, policies and programs that serve to implement the provisions of the CRC. Some committees, like the Continuing Committee of Officials on Human Rights referred to above, discuss general issues, while others focus on specific issues. For example:

Under the Provincial-Territorial Protocol on Children and Families Moving Between Provinces and Territories, information with respect to persons needing or receiving protection services can be shared across jurisdictional boundaries, to the extent permitted by provincial/territorial legislation.
The Provincial-Territorial Directors of Early Childhood Education and Care Committee aims to improve policies and practices related to the development, funding, and delivery of high quality early childhood services in Canada. The Committee acts as a forum for exchange of information among Directors of Early Childhood Education and Care, related P/T and F-P/T Committees, and engages with national stakeholders regarding best practices and current research.
The Joint Consortium for School Health brings together key federal, provincial and territorial government representatives responsible for health and education to facilitate a comprehensive and coordinated approach to promoting health in schools.
The Canada Northwest Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Partnership is an alliance of seven jurisdictions (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nunavut, Northwest Territories, and Yukon), that works towards the development and promotion of an interprovincial/territorial approach to prevention, intervention, care and support of individuals affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). In addition, the partnership funds the Canada Northwest FASD Research Network.
The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) is an intergovernmental body composed of provincial and territorial ministers responsible for elementary, secondary, and advanced education. Through CMEC, ministers share information and undertake projects in areas of mutual interest and concern. One of the priority areas for CMEC is Aboriginal education; working in partnership with the federal government, Aboriginal communities and leaders, it seeks to improve outcomes for Aboriginal students in Canada. (www.cmec.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments
/71/BackgrounderAboriginalEducation.en.pdf ).

19.

A number of tripartite agreements have been signed between the Government of Canada, several provincial and territorial governments, and First Nations organizations that facilitate the delivery of enhanced and culturally appropriate services in areas such as health, child welfare, housing and education. Examples include the British Columbia First Nations Housing Memorandum of Understanding (www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ai/mr/is/orh-eng.asp), the Tripartite First Nations Health Plan (www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fniah-spnia/pubs/services/2007-06_tripartite_plan/index-eng.php), the Tripartite Education First Nations Jurisdiction Framework Agreement (www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ai/mr/nr/m-a2006/02773bk-eng.asp), and the Canada/Prince Edward Island/Mi'kmaq Partnership (www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ai/mr/nr/s-d2007/2-2973-eng.asp).

International cooperation

20.

The Government of Canada takes a child rights-based approach to international cooperation efforts for children, using the CRC as its guiding framework. Canada aims to increase the realization of the rights of children in partner countries, particularly those in need of special protection, through capacity building, supporting targeted social services, and ensuring meaningful child participation in policy dialogue, research and project implementation.

21.

Between 2000 and 2005, the Government of Canada invested $171 million in new programming related to children's rights and protection through in support of the Canadian International Development Agency's (CIDA) Action Plan on Child Protection (www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/INET/IMAGES.NSF/vLUImages/pdf/$file/child_protection.pdf).

22.

Children affected by armed conflict and the exploitation of children are key areas of focus for Canada's international investment in children's rights and protection. As of 2007, the Government of Canada had supported over 120 projects addressing a range of issues related to children and armed conflict, including basic education, demobilization and reintegration of former child soldiers, conflict resolution and health. The first project funded as part of CIDA's Action Plan on Child Protection was a multi-country study on girls in fighting forces. As a result of the Action Plan, the Government of Canada contributed to policy dialogue at the international level through innovative programming and research that included the participation of children affected by armed conflict.

23.

Canada also supports programs and projects for the prevention of sexual exploitation, the sale, trafficking and abduction of children and other forms of exploitation, including the worst forms of child labour. For example, in February 2008, the Government of Canada announced $2.6 million in funding for the Child Protection Partnership Program, a multi-sector partnership addressing information technology-enabled sexual exploitation in the developing world.

24.

Additional details of Canada's international cooperation for children are outlined in sections 4.4 and 5.2 of the 'Plus 5' Review of the 2002 Special Session on Children and World Fit for Children Plan of Action: Response by Canada (www.unicef.org/worldfitforchildren/files/Canada_WFFC5_Report_Eng.pdf).

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