A Question of Commitment

Description

In 1991, the Government of Canada ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, requiring governments at all levels to ensure that Canadian laws and practices safeguard the rights of children. A Question of Commitment: Children’s Rights in Canada is the first book to assess the extent to which Canada has fulfilled this commitment.

The editors, R. Brian Howe and Katherine Covell, contend that Canada has wavered in its commitment to the rights of children and is ambivalent in the political culture about the principle of children’s rights. A Question of Commitment expands the scope of the editors’ earlier book, The Challenge of Children’s Rights for Canada, by including the voices of specialists in particular fields of children’s rights and by incorporating recent developments.

Sujets

• Political science

Informations

• Publié par: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
• Date de parution: 29 juillet 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781554587087
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

A Question of Commitment
Studies in Childhood and Family in Canada
Studies in Childhood and Family in Canada is a multidisciplinary series devoted to new perspectives on these subjects as they evolve. The series features studies that focus on the intersections of age, class, race, gender, and region as they contribute to a Canadian understanding of childhood and family, both historically and currently.
Series Editor
Cynthia Comacchio Department of History Wilfrid Laurier University
Manuscripts to be sent to Brian Henderson, Director Wilfrid Laurier University Press 75 University Avenue West Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3C5
A Question of Commitment
Children s Rights in Canada
R. Brian Howe and Katherine Covell, editors
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program for our publishing activities.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
A question of commitment : children s rights in Canada / R. Brian Howe and Katherine Covell, editors.
(Studies in childhood and family in Canada series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-55458-003-3
1. Children s rights-Canada. 2. Children-Government policy-Canada. 3. Child welfare-Canada. 4. Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). I. Howe, Robert Brian II. Covell, Katherine III. Series.
HQ789.Q48 2007 323.3 520971 C2007-901788-6
2007 R. Brian Howe and Katherine Covell
Cover design by P.J. Woodland. Text design by C. Bonas-Taylor.

This book is printed on Ancient Forest Friendly paper (100% post-consumer recycled).
Printed in Canada
Every reasonable effort has been made to acquire permission for copyright material used in this text, and to acknowledge all such indebtedness accurately. Any errors and omissions called to the publisher s attention will be corrected in future printings.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.
Published by Wilfrid Laurier University Press Waterloo, Ontario, Canada www.wlupress.wlu.ca
This book is dedicated to Senator Landon Pearson for her tireless efforts on behalf of children and their rights.
Contents
Foreword
Landon Pearson
Acknowledgments
1 Introduction: A Question of Commitment
R. Brian Howe
2 Child Poverty: The Evolution and Impact of Child Benefits
Ken Battle
3 Early Learning and Child Care: Is Canada on Track?
Martha Friendly
4 A Right to Health: Children s Health and Health Care through a Child Rights Lens
Cheryl van Daalen-Smith
5 Corporal Punishment: A Violation of the Rights of the Child
Joan E. Durrant
6 Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation: What Progress Has Canada Made?
Anne McGillivray
7 Youth Justice and Children s Rights: Transformations in Canada s Youth Justice System
Myriam Denov
8 Restorative Justice: Toward a Rights-based Approach
Shannon Moore
9 The Participation Rights of the Child: Canada s Track Record
Kelly Campbell and Linda Rose-Krasnor
10 Children s Rights Education: Canada s Best-Kept Secret
Katherine Covell
11 Aboriginal Children s Rights: Is Canada Keeping Its Promise?
Marlyn Bennett
12 The Rights of Children in Care: Consistency with the Convention?
Tom Waldock
13 Homeless Children and Street-Involved Children in Canada
Sonja Grover
14 On the Rights of Refugee Children and Child Asylum Seekers
Sonja Grover
15 Implementing the Rights of Children with Disabilities
Richard Sobsey
16 Conclusion: Canada s Ambivalence toward Children
R. Brian Howe and Katherine Covell
Appendix: The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
Index
Foreword
On December 11, 1991, a group of children from every province and territory surrounded Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in the Rotunda of Parliament to sign along with him a document celebrating Canada s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Poinsettias rose in tiers around the great central pillar and coloured lights twinkled among the gargoyles. Two local school choirs sang O Canada! in French and English and everyone clapped. As the chair of the Canadian Coalition for the Rights of the Child I spoke to the children about their rights and, on behalf of the people of Canada, Mr. Mulroney promised to respect them.
So, fifteen years later, how have we done? How well have we fulfilled the promises we made that day? Our successes and failures are what this book is all about.
We were full of hope on that snowy December afternoon, but, as with all the other major UN-sponsored human rights instruments Canada has ratified, the domestic implementation of the CRC has been neither as quick nor as comprehensive as we would have liked. In fact, in many ways, we have been more successful on the international scene than at home. As a country we have been seen as a leader in the field of children s rights; we have negotiated, signed, ratified, or adopted numerous international conventions, statutes, protocols, and declarations over the past decade that directly reference children. Child rights-based programming has been a priority for our official development assistance, and we remain strong supporters of the eight millennium goals to reduce poverty and improve lives by 2015, most of which involve children. Furthermore, we have formally recognized at international conferences that the rights of the child, like all human rights, are universal, indivisible, interdependent, and interrelated. But here at home we often compartimentalize those rights due to jurisdictional issues as well as to a tendency toward specialization. As you read each chapter of this important book, please keep in mind the UNICEF slogan All Rights for All Children. To underline the holistic nature of children s rights, the child s right to the highest attainable standard of health ( Article 24 ), for example, must include a recognition of the family s role in health care. To take another example, while a child s civil and political rights ( Articles 12 , 13 , 14 , and 15 ) are dependent on a full understanding of the concept of evolving capacities, they should be respected even if they run counter to the administrative requirements of the school or other institution in which the child is present.
Anyone who reads the CRC carefully will recognize what a remarkable document it is. It is almost a miracle that during the dying years of the Cold War, representatives of both East and West could have come together and crafted an instrument so respectful of the humanity of the child. It has changed fundamentally the ways in which those of us who care about children think about them and interact with them. The standards set by the Convention should not be seen as entitlements that set the child against the adult world. On the contrary, they represent the highest norms of civilized behaviour. Because they are vulnerable, children have the right to our protection. But at the same time, they also have the right to be treated with respect. And it is only within a culture of respect that constructive social responsibility is able to emerge.
At the UN Special Session on Children, the children reminded us that they are not the sources of problems, but the resources that are needed to solve them. The twenty-first century will belong to them and to their children. It is their dreams and aspirations-shaped by the families into which they are born and the circumstances that surround them as they grow up-that will give the century its final definition. Our challenge is to offer them the protection and respect they deserve so that the horrors of the twentieth century will never be repeated and humanity will thrive.
The children who were with us in 1991 are adults now, living and working among us. Some of them probably have children of their own. For their sake and for the sake of all the children in the world, we need to continue working together, learning from our mistakes, and pushing for necessary changes in programs and policies, listening all the time to the voices of the young. This book is an excellent contribution to the dialogue we must continue to hold, a base to move forward from, and I congratulate the editors for assembling such a rich array of knowledgeable and concerned authors.
The Honourable Landon Pearson Canadian Senator 1994-2005 Advisor on Children s Rights to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Landon Pearson Resource Centre for the Study of Childhood and Children s Rights, Carleton University
Acknowledgments
The editors express their appreciation to the following child rights specialists who willingly shared their thoughts as this book was being conceived:
The Honourable Landon Pearson Tara Collins Sandra Griffin Judy Finlay
We also wish to thank the anonymous reviewers for their very helpful and positive comments.
1 Introduction
A Question of Commitment
R. Brian Howe
Department of Political Science and Children s Rights Centre, Cape Breton University
The overarching question for this book is this: How committed are the governments of Canada to the rights of the child? There is no question about their official commitment. In 1991, with the approval of all the provinces except Alberta, the federal government ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, thereby c