Statement: Committing to our responsibility of ensuring all children and youth have their rights

November 20, 2018

Each year, National Child Day lands on November 20 to commemorate the day in 1989 that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was first adopted. National Child Day has been celebrated across Canada since 1991, when the country first ratified the Convention.

But for many young people across Canada and the Province of Ontario, so many must struggle for their rights that come so easily to others. Many Indigenous children across the country do not have the most basic of rights offered under the Convention. Racialized and LGBTQ2S children and youth face discrimination and systemic racism every day. Young people in care continue to live in systems that does not support them reaching their full potential. Children facing mental health challenges languish on waitlists for supports while struggling to thrive. Far too many children with disabilities are not included in our schools. All this, and more, counters the notion of children and youth as rights holders under the UNCRC.

The ratification of the UNCRC was an important commitment by Canada to its young people, made on behalf of all of us, and we call on our province and our country to commit to ensuring all children and youth have their full rights realized.

On November 20, 2018, the Ontario Child Advocate celebrates the children of Ontario. We believe in them and their tremendous potential to affect positive change. We recommit to our responsibility to create a Province where the opportunity for each and every child to reach their full potential is given.  We encourage all Ontarians to make the same commitment.

NT5