High numbers of children living in poverty, poor health and state care suggest Canada is failing to meet its obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, says a new report.
The UNICEF Canada report, which will be released Tuesday morning to coincide with National Child Day, recommends Canada create a children's commissioner and make the convention enforceable in court.
Canada ratified the international agreement in 1991 — as did all provinces by 1999 — but progress in implementation has been spotty, the report concludes.
"While there has been some progress for some children in some places, for too many children we've stalled or even regressed in some aspects of their health, development and protection," says the report.
"After 18 years, it's time to take our obligations seriously."
Other findings of the report, based on earlier reports or from Statistics Canada, include:
- About one in six Canadian children live in poverty, a number unchanged in a generation.
- A child obesity rate of 26 per cent — one of the highest rates of obesity among children in developed countries.
- Infant mortality rates at five deaths per 1,000, a figure unchanged in five years.
- Canada has one of the highest rates of children in state care and in youth detention centres compared with other industrialized nations.
- Mental illness among children has risen, with only 20 per cent getting treatment.
The report also points out areas where children's lives have improved in the past 18 years, including a higher standard of health and access to health care, rising immunization rates and a relatively high rate of educational achievement, with increased numbers of girls attending post-secondary school.
Infant mortality rates had fallen 22 per cent until stalling in 2002, says the report.
As well as establishing the independent children's commissioner, who would have the power to ensure governments meet their responsibilities to kids, the report also recommends:
- Make the convention enforceable in the courts.
- Develop a national action plan aimed at bringing Canada into convention compliance.
- Hold a parliamentary review of recommendations from the UN committee on child rights and from the Senate's report on children.
- Include everyone under 18 in child-protection legislation.
- Develop a program to educate children and others on convention rights.
In June, the Canadian Pediatric Society called for a federal commissioner for children and youth across the country.
With files from the Canadian PressRelated
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