Updated December 11, 2008
Page révisée le 11 décembre 2008

Just released [11 Dec 08] by the
UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre:

The child care transition: A league table of
early childhood education and care in economically advanced countries
[including Canada]
Innocenti Report Card #8
By Peter Adamson drawing on research by John Bennett
Publication date 11 Dec 08

* The child care transition 1(report) - (PDF - 602K, 40 pages)
* The child care transition (summary) - (PDF - this link was not working on Dec. 11)
* Canada's status at a glance
"(...) Canada invests about 0.2 per cent GDP in early child care and education (for 0-6 years) according to the OECD Canada Review (2006). Investing in quality services available to all children who need them would cost about 1 per cent of GDP."

Background information:
* Early childhood services in the OECD countries
* Benchmarks for early childhood services in OECD countries

Related resources:
* Press releases - UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre (incl. summary, other press material, background papers, etc.)

--------------------------------------------

Response from UNICEF Canada:

UNICEF Canada calls for measurable standards,
guidelines, appropriate funding for child care, and solutions by 2009
UNICEF Canada press release
Publication date 11 Dec 08

--------------------------------------------

Opposition parties respond to UNICEF report card
* New Democrat Olivia Chow to send UNICEF card to Harper to highlight report of Canada missing the mark in childcare. 11 Dec 08
* UN report shows Conservatives’ failed childcare strategy: Canada ranks last among OECD countries. Liberal Party of Canada, 11 Dec 08
Source:
Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU)
CRRU focuses on research and policy resources in the context of a high quality system of early childhood education and child care in Canada
NOTE: the links above are from the CRRU website, the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre website and the UNICEF CAnada website

--------------------------------------------

From CTV.ca :

Canada tied for last in UNICEF child care ranking
December 11 2008
Canada is tied for last place in a UNICEF ranking of the early child-care services offered by 25 developed countries. Canada failed to meet nine out of 10 of the proposed benchmarks UNICEF used to rank the countries. The 10 proposed benchmarks included parental leave of one year at 50 per cent or more of salary, a national plan with priority for the disadvantaged, and child poverty rates of less than 10 per cent.

2008 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty
November 21, 2008

From Campaign 2000:

Family Security in Insecure Times:
The Case for a Poverty Reduction Strategy for Canada -
2008 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada (PDF - 167K, 6 pages)
[ version française:
Rapport 2008 sur la pauvreté des enfants et des familles au Canada (PDF - 565K, 8pages) ]

Poverty Reduction a Strategic Move in Downturn--Campaign 2000 Released New Report Card
Press Release
21 November 2008
OTTAWA – The federal government would make a timely strategic move if it invested now to reduce stubborn poverty rates in Canada, says a new report by Campaign 2000. The 2008 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada, available at www.campaign2000.ca, shows the nation’s child poverty rate is almost what it was in 1989 when Parliament unanimously resolved to end child poverty by the year 2000.

2008 Report Card on Child Poverty in Ontario--released Nov. 21 at Queen's Park
Press Release
21 November 2008
Toronto - Ontario’s child poverty rate is stubbornly high and will get far worse if the province plunges into a recession, says a report by Ontario Campaign 2000. Now More Than Ever: Ontario Needs a Strong Poverty Reduction Strategy, shows Ontario’s child poverty rate remained high, at 11.8 per cent, during economic growth.

Campaign 2000
Campaign 2000 is a cross-Canada public education movement to build Canadian awareness and support for the 1989 all-party House of Commons resolution to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000.

Related link:

760,000 Canadian kids growing up poor: report
November 20, 2008
OTTAWA — At least 760,000 Canadian kids - about one in nine - are growing up poor, says a new report that calls on the Harper government to follow the lead of some provinces and take action. The 2008 report card being released Friday by anti-poverty group Campaign 2000 likely underestimates the true extent of hardship, says national co-ordinator Laurel Rothman.
Source:
Canadian Press

-----------------------------------

Provincial report cards
- includes links to the latest report and earlier years for : * British Columbia * Alberta * Saskatchewan * Manitoba * Ontario * New Brunswick * Nova Scotia
- the links below are all from the above reports card page, and they point only to the 2008 reports; go to the report cards page for earlier years for all provinces noted above.

British Columbia:
2008 Child Poverty Report Card (PDF - 1.4MB, 19 pages)
November 2008
Ten factsheets analyzing various aspects of child poverty in BC.
* What is Child Poverty? * BC Had the Worst Record - Five Years in a Row * Child Poverty over the Years * Child Poverty by Family Type * Depth of Poverty by Family Type * Income of Families with Children * Child Poverty and Working Parents * Families with Children on Welfare * Child Poverty and the Importance of Government Help * What Needs to Happen
Source:
First Call BC

Alberta:
We can do better : Toward an Alberta Child Poverty Reduction
Strategy for Children and Families (PDF - 2.9MB, 20 pages)
November 2008
Source:
Edmonton Social Planning Council (ESPC)

ESPC media release:
77,595 Alberta Children Live Below the Poverty Line
Nov. 21, 2008
"(...)The report, We Can Do Better, also shows that low income children in Alberta live deeper in poverty than children in other parts of Canada, and four out of five live in families where their parent or parents are working."

Saskatchewan:
2008 Child and Family Poverty Profile (PDF - 103K, 9 pages)
November 2008
"(...)Despite government resolve, little has changed for poor children. Nearly one in every five Saskatchewan children lives in a family with an income below the LICO."
Source:
University of Regina Social Policy Research Unit

Manitoba:
Manitoba at Crossroads. Child and Family Report Card 2008 (PDF - 1.95MB, 22 pages)
November 2008
"(...)there has been little significant difference in the rate of poverty in Manitoba over the last nine years, nine years that have seen unprecedented economic growth. The statistics also show that the wealth generated in those years overwhelmingly ended up in the pockets of the richest Manitobans and has done little to lift people out of poverty."
Source:
Social Planning Council of Winnipeg

Ontario:
2008 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Ontario (PDF - 121K, 12 pages)
November 2008
"(...)It is estimated that the public cost of poverty in Ontario is $10-$13 billion/year in healthcare costs, criminal justice, and lost productivity.19 Investing in preventing and reducing poverty is a more effective and less costly approach. The economic downturn in 2008 is hurting low and modest income families hard."
Source:
Ontario Campaign 2000

New Brunswick:
The Saint John Human Development Council has published a report card for 2007 (PDF - 777K, 6 pages) and 2006, but nothing for 2008 (as at Nov.22/08).

Nova Scotia:
Report on child poverty in NS (PDF - 110K, 2 pages)
November 2008
By Pauline Raven

Best Interest of the Child : Meaning and Application in Canada
A Multi-Disciplinary Conference
Faculty of Law, University of Toronto
February 27 and 28, 2009
Sponsored by the Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children; the Faculty of Law and David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights, University of Toronto; UNICEF Canada; and Justice for Children and Youth. Supported by The Department of Canadian Heritage

The Best Interests of the Child is one of the basic principles in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It has been interpreted and applied in different ways in a variety of different contexts in Canada. In 2003, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended that Canada work toward a common understanding and more consistent application of the principle, at the level of public policy formation as well as in decision-making for individual children. The objective of this conference is to deepen understanding of the principle, share experiences of its application, and identify good practices for implementation in Canada. The intended outcome of the initiative is a more common understanding of the principle

Notice and Call for Expression of Interest (PDF - 1.5MB, 1 page)

Source:
UNICEF Canada

Canadian Symposium For Parental Alienation Syndrome
March 27-29, 2009
Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto
The Canadian Symposium For Parental Alienation Syndrome (CS - PAS), is an educational conference for Canadian and international mental health professionals, family law attorney's (sic) and other professionals dedicated to the prevention and treatment of Parental Alienation and Parental Alienation Syndrome.
- incl. links to:
* About CS-PAS * Registration * Even and Hotel Information * Speaker Profiles * Directory of Endorsed Vendors * Referral Services (Attorney / Mental Health / Mediator) * Continuing Education Credits * Sponsorship Affiliation * Contact

Parental alienation syndrome
"...a disturbance in which children are obsessively preoccupied with depreciation and/or criticism of a parent. In other words, denigration that is unjustified and or exaggerated."
Source:
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

COMMENT:
When the link to the above event was first suggested to me, I felt that the theme of the symposium was somewhat distant from the focus of my site, and I considered passing up the opportunity to promote the event. However, the request to link to that event made me think back to how my own marital split in the early 1980s was largely unacrimonious and unalienating, and how I've always thought that my/our child from that marriage is a better person for it. According to the organizer of this event, "...hundreds of thousands of children in Canada suffer from this form of child abuse." If this symposium can help reduce those numbers, I'm honoured to be able to help spread the word about the event. [Gilles]

Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect - 2003
October 4, 2005
"The rate of substantiated maltreatment in Canada, excluding of Quebec, has increased 125%, from 9.64 substantiated cases per thousand children in 1998 to 21.71 in 2003. This increase in documented maltreatment may be explained by improved and expanded reporting and investigation procedures such as: 1. changes in case substantiation practices; 2. more systematic identification of victimized siblings; and 3. greater awareness of emotional maltreatment and exposure to domestic violence."
- incl. links to : major findings, related CECW Information Sheets on CIS-2003 (Physical abuse of children in Canada - Sexual abuse of children in Canada - Child abuse and neglect investigations in Canada: Comparing 1998 and 2003 data - Child Neglect in Canada) + "Information Sheets Coming Soon" (Child Neglect In Canada - Domestic Violence - Emotional Maltreatment), plus Introduction to CIS Cycle II

Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect - Major Findings - 2003
HTML version
PDF version (2.9MB, 162 pages)

Source:
Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare

Google Web Search Results : "Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse, October 2005"
Google News search Results : "Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse, October 2005"
Source:
Google.ca

Related Link:

Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect: Final Report (2001)

Protecting children, helping adults: Bringing two worlds closer together
6th National Child Welfare Symposium
May 26 - 27, 2005
Mont Royal Centre, Montreal, Québec
[The Call for Abstracts closed December 3, 2004.]
Conference Themes: domestic violence * mental health * child protection * drug abuse * intellectual disabilities

"The Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare (CECW) is proud to present the detailed program, including a registration form, for the 6th National Child Welfare Symposium (www.cecw-cepb.ca) , to be held at the Centre Mont-Royal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, May 26 - 27, 2005. Protecting Children, Helping Adults: Bringing Two Worlds Closer Together, is bringing together researchers and practitioners with managers and decision makers who wish to build bridges between services for adults (specifically in the areas of domestic violence, substance abuse, mental health problems, and intellectual disability) and child welfare services. A forum on social policy is taking place at the end of the second day of the symposium. Its goal is to lay the groundwork for co-ordinating services for adults and services for children, with the aim of responding better to the respective needs of the members of families in difficulty. Taking the risk of intervening, together—should this be the starting point for concerted action?"

Program (PDF file - 1.4MB, 14 pages)

Source:
Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CANADA: Researching Resilience in Children and Youth [conference]
15-17 June 2005
University of Kings College
Halifax, Nova Scotia
"The International Resilience Project (IRP) is a research project that is using different types of research methods to examine what helps children and youth cope with the many challenges they face in life. The project is working with children, youth, and elders in 12 countries and on 5 continents around the world. It is a 3-year pilot study funded by the government of Canada through Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada. The Project is hosting an international conference to present leading edge innovations in building, sustaining and researching resilience in children and youth, globally.(...) Researchers, policy makers, child advocates, clinicians, and community workers globally are being invited to share their work. "
- Key note speakers include: James Garbarino * Hamilton McCubbin * Laura McCubbin * Cindy Blackstock * Zahava Solomon
- The following sub-themes will be explored at the conference: (A) Theories of resilience in children and youth across cultures (B) Research methods in the study of resilience across cultures and contexts (C) Interventions to build resilience in children and youth, including prevention and treatment.
Source:
"The International Resilience Project (IRP) is an international research project that is using different types of research methods to examine what helps children and youth cope with the many challenges that they face in life. It looks at this from the perspective of youth, elders and others in each community that participates. The project is working with children, youth, and elders in twelve countries and on five continents around the world. It is a 3-year pilot study funded by the government of Canada through Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada."

Ability Online
"A computer network designed to enhance the lives of children and youth with disabilities or illness by providing an online community of friendship and support."
Graphic version of this site
Text version of this site
En ligne directe (French version of this site)
"Ability OnLine is a free internet community where children/youth with disabilities/illness and their parents can meet others like them, make friends from all over the world, share their hopes and fears, find role-models and mentors, and feel like they belong. Ability OnLine began in 1991 and has grown from a small Bulletin Board Service (BBS) to a web based network with members from around the world."
- Ability Online recently recorded the three millionth visit to its website (in 10 yrs.)...
About Us - read why Ability Online was created and how it's evolved since then.

Adoption Council of Canada
"The Adoption Council of Canada (ACC) is the umbrella organization for adoption in Canada. Based in Ottawa, the ACC raises public awareness of adoption, promotes placement of waiting children and stresses the importance of post-adoption services. Our services include a quarterly newsletter, a resource library, referrals, and conference planning."
- incl. links to : About the ACC | Organizations | News | Viewpoints | Legislation | Events | Publications | Research | Glossary | Newsletters | Canada's Waiting Children | Links | Statistics | Principles

Related Links:

Web Sites with Information on Adoption (ACC) - almost 30 links to Canadian (incl. provincial/territorial) government and non-government resources, and five American online resources

Canada's Waiting Kids (CWK)
"Canada's Waiting Kids is an online resource for the Canada's Waiting Children Program of the Adoption Council of Canada (ACC). The Web site lists photos and background information about Canadian children waiting for permanent adoptive families. It also provides information about domestic adoption in Canada of children in the care of Canadian child welfare agencies. Canada's Waiting Kids is a service of the ACC. The ACC is not an adoption agency but an information and referral service. This program is made possible by grants from the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and the ongoing support of Wendy's Restaurants of Canada."
- incl. links to : Adoption Process | Older/Special Needs Kids | Resources | Info and Support Groups | Photo Album | Social Workers' Corner | Terms and Conditions | Overview | Adoption Myths | Find Out More | FAQs

---

Caledon Institute of Social Policy

A Bigger and Better Child Benefit:
A $5,000 Canada Child Tax Benefit (PDF file - 324K, 63 pages)
Ken Battle, January 2008
The federal child benefits system has undergone far-reaching changes over the past two years, with the addition of the Universal Child Care Benefit and non-refundable child tax credit to the existing Canada Child Tax Benefit. While these two so-called "new" programs (they are actually worn retreads from the past) have infused substantial new monies into the child benefits system, they also have made it complex, inequitable and virtually incomprehensible to Canadian families.

NOTE: includes a detailed section entitled "Evolution of child benefits 1918-2007."

A $5,000 Canada Child Tax Benefit:
Questions and Answers (PDF file - 56K, 11 pages)
by
Ken Battle
January 2008

Child Benefits Levels in 2003 and Beyond: Australia, Canada, the UK and the US
Michael Mendelson
April 2003
Abstract
"Australia, Canada, the UK and the US all have programs providing cash benefits to families with children. This study is a detailed comparison of current child benefit rates in the four countries, for a representative lone parent family with one child and a two-parent family with two children. It also compares Canada’s child benefits in 2007, when all announced increases are implemented, to those in Australia, the UK and the US. The paper calculates the changes that would be needed to replicate UK child benefits in Canada, and analyzes the implications of these changes."
Full Document (PDF file - 75K, 13 pages)
Source : Caledon Institute of Social Policy

Architecture for National Child Care (PDF file - 58K, 21 pages) November 2002 by Ken Battle and Sherri Torjman "The case for investing in high quality child care is compelling and unequivocal." Related Links: A National Child Care Strategy: Getting the Architecture Right Now A Report of the National Liberal Caucus Social Policy Committee with the collaboration of the Caledon Institute of Social Policy Chair: John Godfrey MP November 2002 Time to Decide on Child Poverty: Laggard or Leader? The Competitive Requirement for a Canadian National Child Care Strategy A Draft Report of the Social Policy Committee of the National Liberal Caucus John Godfrey MP, Chair August 2002 Website of John Godfrey, MP, Don Valley West

---

Campaign 2000
Campaign 2000 is a cross-Canada public education movement to build Canadian awareness and support for the 1989 all-party House of Commons resolution to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000. Campaign 2000 began in 1991 out of concern about the lack of government progress in addressing child poverty. Campaign 2000 is non-partisan in urging all Canadian elected officials to keep their promise to Canada's children. There are over 85 national, community and provincial partners actively involved in the work of Campaign 2000. Hundreds of other groups across the country work on the issue of child poverty every day, such as children's aid societies, faith organizations, community agencies, health organizations, school boards, and low-income people's groups.
Follow these links from Campaign 2000's Home Page : What's New - Take Action - Report Cards - Resources - About Campaign 2000

Campaign 2000 Partners - Complete list of all Campaign 2000 national, provincial and community partners - including links to 60+ websites of these NGOs and other groups from across Canada.

Campaign 2000 Report Cards - Links to the most recent report cards on child poverty at the national level as well as for the provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Ontario. You'll even find a link to the child poverty report card for the City of Toronto on the report card page. (Click on the links down the left side of the page)

2007 Report Card on Child Poverty in Canada - Campaign 2000

No Change 18 Years Later – New Report Shows Child Poverty at 1989 Levels
Media release
November 26, 2007
Eighteen years after the 1989 all-party resolution of the House of Commons to end child poverty in Canada the rate is exactly the same, says a new report from Campaign 2000. Despite a growing economy, a soaring dollar and low unemployment, Statistics Canada data shows the after-tax child poverty rate is 11.7%, exactly where it was when all federal parties decided action was urgently needed.

Complete report card:

It Takes a Nation to Raise a Generation:
Time for a National Poverty Reduction Strategy (PDF file - 542K, 8 pages)
November 2007

Version française:

Il faut une nation pour éduquer une génération :
Le temps est venu pour une stratégie nationale de réduction de la pauvreté (fichier PDF - 565Ko, 8 pages)
Rapport 2007 sur la pauvreté des enfants et des familles au Canada

Source:
Campaign 2000 Report on Child and Family Poverty in Canada
Main page - includes links to both the French and English media releases and reports, as well as links to national report cards for previous years and for selected Canadian provinces.
[ Campaign 2000 ]

Related links:

Campaign 2000 Provincial report cards on child poverty
- incl. links to child poverty reports for BC - AB - SK - MB- ON - NB - NS
NOTE: (Nov. 26/07) As at this date, not all provinces have posted a child poverty report card for 2007. However, if you click the link above you can access reports for those jurisdictions for earlier years. The links below are to those jurisdictions that have a 2007 report online on Nov. 26.

British Columbia:
2007 Child Poverty Report Card (PDF file - 196K, 19 pages)
November 2007
Source:
First Call BC

Alberta:
Child and Family Poverty Too High in Wealthy Alberta
November 26, 2007
Related link:
Wages and Child and Family Poverty in Alberta: Fact Sheet
Source:
Public Interest Alberta

Manitoba:
A Province Left Behind.... Where's our poverty eradication plan,
Prime Minister Harper, Premier Doer and Mayor Katz? (PDF file - 971K, 38 pages)
November 2007
Source:
Social Planning Council of Winnipeg

New Brunswick:
Child and Family Poverty report card 2007 (PDF file - 780K, 6 pages)
November 2007
Source:
New Brunswick Human Development Council

Nova Scotia:
Child poverty in Nova Scotia: The facts (PDF file - 370K, 9 pages)
November 24, 2007
By Pauline Raven, Lesley Frank and Renee Ross

Related links:

BC's Child Poverty Rate Tops Again
Or is this headline just trying to manipulate you?
By Rob Annandale
November 26, 2007
"(...)To say a Vancouverite who earns $20,000 per year is living in poverty would indeed seem preposterous to many of the more than one billion people worldwide who survive on less than a dollar a day."
Source:
The Tyee
<begin Leap of Logic rant:>
EH? Comparing the incomes of someone living in Vancouver with someone in Africa or Asia?
Reality check: It's the cost of living, Stupid. I would have expected this kind of distorted comparison from minions of the Fraser Institute, but from the Tyee?? Yech.
(Read the Comments section immediately below the article for similar helpful advice to Mr. Annandale.)
</end Leap of Logic rant.>

From the Edmonton Social Planning Council:

Standing Still in a Booming Economy:
Finding Solutions for Low Income Working Households (PDF file - 672K, 51 pages)
October 2007
Table of contents:
* Introduction * Methodology * Reporting the Trends (Profile of Edmonton’s Economy - Employment - Employment Earnings and Benefits - Market Income - After-Tax Income - Economic Growth and Family Incomes - Income Distribution - Job Market - Unionization - Low Income - Workers in Low Income Households) * Recommendations (Labour Market - Transfer Programs - Tax Measures) * Conclusion
[NOTE: this isn't part of campaign 2000's provincial child poverty reports, but it's recent and it's about poverty in Alberta, so it's included here for information purposes.]

From CBC:

* B.C.'s child poverty rate worst in Canada: First Call report (November 26)
* Child poverty rate in Manitoba remains too high: Social Planning Council of Winnipeg (November 26)

From the Halifax Chronicle Herald:

Survey: Poor kids’ lot gets worse
November 27, 2007
The national child poverty rate may be the same as it was in 1989, but life for poor Nova Scotia families isn’t, says a new report on child poverty.

Poverty Quiz - Test your knowledge of child and family poverty in Canada.

Addressing the Falling Fortunes of Young Children and their Families: A Community Building Approach
This is a two-year national project (January 2006 through March 2008) which aims to identify strategies to improve the income and wages, including the living wage, of young families and their children.

Regional Partner Organizations
(Click the link above to access the websites of the organizations listed below)
* Community Services Council, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Family Service Association of Toronto
* Women's Habitat (Toronto)
* North End Women's Centre (Winnipeg)
* Social Planning Council of Winnipeg
* First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition

Canada’s Child Poverty Levels not Budging -
New report shows child poverty “entrenched” in Canada over 25 Years
Campaign 2000
23 November 2006
The rate of child and family poverty in Canada has been stalled at 17-18% over the past 5 years despite strong economic growth and low unemployment, according to a new report by Campaign 2000.

Oh Canada! Too Many Children in Poverty for Too Long [pdf, 6pp, 311KB]
2006 report card on child poverty in Canada

Version française:
Oh Canada! Trop d'enfants pauvres et depuis trop longtemps [pdf, 6pp, 331KB]

Earlier editions of the
report card on child poverty in Canada - reports in English and French going back to 2002
TIP: if you scroll to the bottom of the earlier editions page, you'll also find links to a 2002 report to the UN Special Session on Children entitled A report on a decade of child and family poverty in Canada and a November 2001 Campaign 2000 Bulletin entitled Family Security in Insecure Times: Tackling Canada's Social Deficit.

Related Links:

Aboriginal children are poorest in country: report
B.C. and Newfoundland have highest rates; Alberta and P.E.I. have lowest rates
November 24, 2006
A national network of advocacy groups released a report on Friday that paints a bleak picture of poverty facing First Nations children in Canada. In its report, called Oh Canada! Too Many Children in Poverty for Too Long, the advocacy group Campaign 2000 says First Nations children are suffering the greatest levels of poverty of all children in the country.
Source:
CBC News

Google Web Search Results:
"Campaign 2000, child poverty reports, 2006, Canada"
Google News Search Results:
"Campaign 2000, child poverty reports, 2006, Canada"
Source:
Google.ca

Campaign 2000 Calls for an Ontario Action Plan to Address Child Poverty
News alert
March 2, 2006
"A new report by Ontario Campaign 2000 finds that 443,000 children in Ontario are living in poverty and the child poverty rate is stalled at 16%, despite strong economic growth."

Complete report:

Putting Children First:
2005 Report Card on Child Poverty in Ontario (PDF file - 346K, 8 pages)

Version française:
Les enfants d’abord : Rapport 2005 sur la pauvreté des enfants en Ontario (fichier PDF - 278Ko., 8 pages)
Le 2 mars 2006

Source:
Campaign 2000
Campagne 2000 (version française du site)

Poverty hits one in six kids in Ontario
Study blames increase in part-time, contract work
Report urges hike in minimum wage, quality child care
March 2, 2006
One in six children in Ontario lives in poverty, a study being released today found. That's 443,000 people under 18 across the province.
Source:
The Toronto Star

Google Web Search Results : "2005 Report Card on Child Poverty in Ontario"
Google News search Results : "2005 Report Card on Child Poverty in Ontario"
Source:
Google.ca

Reducing Child Poverty to Increase Productivity: A Human Capital Strategy
Brief to the Standing Committee on Finance (PDF file - 89K, 8 pages)
Pre-Budget Consultation
September, 2005
By Laurel Rothman
National Coordinator, Campaign 2000
"The fact that 15% of our youngest citizens are growing up in poverty does not bode well for Canada’s future productivity performance, which is the focus of the 2005 Pre-Budget Consultations. Broad based investment in our human capital is essential for a productivity agenda. "Canada’s Fiscal Outlook projects surpluses of almost $30 billion over the next five years. With consecutive multi-billion dollar budget surpluses, Canada has the resources to make substantial progress. We call on the federal government to commit a portion of these surpluses to invest in children, as they have committed portions for healthcare and equalization payments."

Submission to the Federal Labour Standards Review - Excerpts
September 26, 2005
Campaign 2000
"Campaign 2000 maintains that federal labour standards should be modernized to reflect leading standards and 'best practices'in other advanced economies. They need to be updated to reflect changes in the labour market and workforce over the past 40 years, with a particular emphasis on ensuring protection for vulnerable workers."

Complete brief:

Submission to the Federal Labour Standards Review Commission
Re: Part III of the Canada Labour Code (PDF file - 57K, 7 pages)
August 15, 2005
From: Laurel Rothman, National Coordinator

Related Link:

Federal Labour Standards Review Commission

---------------------------------------------

Editorial: Renew pledge on child poverty
May 10, 2004
"(...)Nearly half a century ago this nation decided that none of its citizens should have to forgo needed health care just because his or her family didn't have enough money to pay for it. So how can it be that we still expose more than 1 million children to the risks of poor health and lost opportunities for personal growth and fulfillment just because they were born into families that happened to be poor? Because they couldn't answer that question in 1989, MPs promised to make every effort to rid the country of child poverty by 2000. And because they still cannot answer that question, they need to renew their pledge, and this time to follow through on it."
Source:
The Toronto Star
NOTE: this article is about the Campaign 2000 report Pathways to Progress (see the next link below)

Low wages condemn families to poverty
News Alert
May 5, 2004

---------------------------------------------

Pathways to progress:
Structural solutions to address child poverty
By Christa Freiler, Laurel Rothman and Pedro Barata
May 2004
Executive Summary [PDF -14pp 95KB]
Full paper [PDF - 82pp 360KB]

Version française:
Les voies du progrès : solutions structurelles pour s'attaquer à la pauvreté infantile
Résumé [16pp 105KB]
Rapport [83pp 390KB]

"Child poverty remains firmly entrenched in Canada. Pathways to Progress: Structural Solutions to Address Child Poverty challenges governments to work together on a social investment strategy that will forge pathways out of poverty for one million children today, and will secure pathways to the future for generations to come."

---------------------------------------------

Jobs alone not a pathway out of poverty, study shows
News Alert
November 23, 2003
"More than half of all children living in poverty have parents who are in the paid labour force, says a report released today by Campaign 2000."

Complete report:

Honouring Our Promises
Meeting the Challenge to End Child and Family Poverty
2003 Report Card on Child Poverty in Canada (PDF file - 183K, 12 pages)
"Fourteen years ago, the House of Commons unanimously resolved to "seek to achieve the goal of eliminating poverty among Canadian children by the year 2000". Despite consecutive years of economic growth more than one million children, or almost one child in six, still live in poverty in Canada."
[ version française - format PDF - 190Ko., 12 pages]

Earlier Campaign 2000 child poverty reports - links to 2002 child poverty report, A Report on a Decade of Child and Family Poverty in Canada (May 2002), The UNSSC: Putting Promises Into Action, Family Security in Insecure Times: Tackling Canada's Social Deficit (November 2001)

Provincial child poverty report cards : incl. British Columbia - Manitoba - Nova Scotia - Ontario - Saskatchewan

............................................

Diversity or Disparity?
Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada (ECEC)
Second Report, Community Indicators Project
October 2003

For the first time, the number of child care spaces declines in Canada
News Alert
October 28, 2003
Release of Diversity or Disparity? Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada (ECEC), Second Report, Community Indicators Project
"...cuts to child care budgets in the three richest provinces - British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario - resulted in an overall loss of spaces"

Media Kit: contains media release, Q&A. (PDF file - 178K, 3 pages)
Full Report - HTML (NOTE: the table of contents is in the left-hand margin of the report page)
Full Report - PDF - 288K, 16 pages

Related Links:

About the Community Indicators project
Project reports - links to HTML and PDF versions of this year's report and last year's (released in October 2002), as well as French versions of reports for both years.

............................................

Poverty Amidst Prosperity - Building a Canada for All Children
Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada, November 2002
Campaign 2000
"For the first time in a decade the number of children living in low-income families has dropped from one in five, to one in six, says a new report released by Campaign 2000. The change follows four consecutive years of falling child poverty rates. But that figure is still higher than in 1989, when one in seven children were poor, prompting the House of Commons to pass a unanimous resolution to eliminate child poverty."
News Alert - November 21, 2002
Complete report online (HTML)
[NOTE: If you're using Netscape 4.7, the "HTML" link above may not work - use Opera or Internet Explorer, or else download the pdf version of the report]
Complete report (PDF file - 107K, 4 pages)
Version française:
La pauvreté en période de prospérité – bâtir un Canada pour tous les enfants (fichier PDF - 11Ko., 4 pages)
Source:
Campaign 2000

Campaign 2000 Media Conference: Failing Grades for Canadian Child Care
October 24, 2002
"Whatever the indicator - availability of spaces, affordable fees for parents, helping low income families or meeting quality standards Canadian child care services receive a failing grade, says a new study sponsored by Campaign 2000."
Early Childhood and Care Community Indicators Project - description of the initiative
Project reports

Back Up Child Poverty Promises with Real Money, PM Urged
News Alert
October 1, 2002
"The real test of the government's commitment to fight child poverty will be in the investment priorities of the next budget, said child poverty advocates following the Speech from the Throne."
[For other links to analysis of the federal government's Speech from the Throne (Sept. 30/02), go to the Canadian Social Research Links General Federal Government Links page]

Putting promises into action: Campaign 2000 Brief to the Standing Committee on Finance
Pre-budget consultation
by Laurel Rothman
Campaign 2000
September 9, 2002
"Substantive action is required in this federal budget to address child and family poverty and meet the government's stated objectives of improving the lives of all children."
Complete report online:
Putting Promises into Action (PDF file - 546K, 12pages)

Campaign 2000 UN Special Session on Children website
The UN Special Session on Children: A Promise to Act
- incl. links to : Introduction - Resolution - Letter to the PM - 6 steps you can take - Status report - Related links - Contacts

End Child/Family Poverty: Meeting with Your MP National Campaign
July 17, 2002
"Campaign 2000 is currently engaged in an intensive all-party national awareness campaign to ensure that child and family poverty becomes a key component of the upcoming federal budget."

Putting Promises Into Action : A Report on a Decade of Child and Family Poverty in Canada, May 2002 (PDF file - 297K, 16 pages)
May 2002
[version française]
"A comprehensive plan of social investments for children will promote an inclusive society and contribute to an enriched economic and social environment. These investments are essential to providing Canada's, and the world's children, with the best start and an equal opportunity to succeed."

Note: on the Campaign 2000 Home page, you'll also find these two related links:
- Canada's PM develops stage fright for UN Children’s Session (April 30)
- Letter to Prime Minister Chretien on the occasion of the UN Special Session on Children (April 16)

Family Security in Insecure Times: Tackling Canada's Social Deficit
Almost one in five children still lives in poverty in Canada -an increase of 39%since 1989
November 2001 Bulletin
Press Release
Complete Report (PDF file - 4 pages, 666KB]
Related Press Releases

Report on Child Poverty in Canada - Promises Not Kept
Special focus on Manitoba
November 2001
Cover (PDF file - 1.4MB, 1 page)
Report (PDF file - 268K, 1 page)
Source : Campaign 2000 and the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg

Child Poverty - A National Disgrace
November Initiative 2001
On November 26th Campaign 2000 opened a photo exhibit at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and in nine other locations.
Photo Exhibit Online

Get on with the job of a National Children's Agenda, groups urge Premiers
Press Release
July 27, 2001
Toronto - Today a national coalition exhorted Canada's Premiers to make children a top priority by taking action to eradicate Canada's persistent levels of child poverty. Campaign 2000, a national coalition of over 85 groups, released a detailed open letter in anticipation of next week's annual Premiers' Conference
Open Letter (HTML).
Open Letter (PDF file - 77K, 7 pages)Also from Campaign 2000:
The Relationship Between Reliable Child Care and Lone Mothers' Attachment to the Labour Force: Mothers' Voices and the Public Policy Perspective
Campaign 2000 public forum on child care
June 2001- incl. links to almost a dozen reports and presentations, such as:
The Early Childhood Development Initiative: A Vision for Early Childhood Development Services in Ontario - April 2001(PDF file - 229K, 10 pages)
Stacking the Deck: The Relationship between Reliable Child Care and Lone Mothers' Attachment to the Labour Force - May 2001(PDF file - 1,182K, 20 pages)

Campaign 2000 continues: Keep the promise to eliminate child and family poverty in Canada
June 5, 2001

Stacking the Deck: The Relationship between Reliable Child Care and Lone Mothers' Attachment to the Labour Force
PDF file - 1,182K, 20pp
Summary Report from the Interviews, May 2001

The Early Childhood Development Initiative: A Vision for Early Childhood Development Services in Ontario
Ontario Campaign 2000 Consultation Paper
PDF file - 10pages, 229KB
April 9, 2001
Developed in consultation with representatives from: Campaign 2000, Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, Ontario Association of Family Resource Programs, Toronto Public Health, Metro Association of Family Resource Programs and Toronto Coalition for Better Child Care.

Campaign Against Child Poverty
Campagne contre la pauvreté des enfants
"The Campaign Against Child Poverty is a national, non-partisan coalition of citizens from faith-groups, social justice groups, charities, child welfare organizations and others concerned about the unacceptably high levels of child and family poverty in Canada. We are also concerned about the hazards to the future educational, social, physical, developmental and employment success of those children presently living in poor families. (...) We are affiliated with no political party, and our only special interest is to reduce the numbers of poor children in Canada. We are funded by private citizens across Canada, by foundations, faith communities and NGO's, all of whom share our vision of a poverty-free country."
- incl. links to : Who we are - What we do - Why we do it - Public education messages - Links to sponsors

Maybe it’s time we had a commission investigating child poverty...
April 23, 2005
The Campaign Against Child Poverty ran this full-page ad in the Toronto Star on April 23. It talks about the 15% of our children - more than 1,000,000 kids – who live below the poverty line, about how, more than 15 years ago, Canadian Parliament voted unanimously to end child poverty, and how Europe and Scandinavia have proven conclusively that child poverty rates can be dramatically reduced with no risk to national economies. It talks about the need for a national early childhood education and care plan, affordable housing, a livable minimum wage, and support for the National Child Tax Benefit.
Source:
Campaign Against Child Poverty

CanChild
"CanChild is a centre for childhood disability research that seeks to maximize the life quality of children and youth with disabilities and their families. CanChild is comprised of a multi-disciplinary team working in the field of childhood disability. The aims of this research centre are to:
• take a leadership role in identifying emerging issues for research, practice, policy and education
• conduct high-quality research
• effectively transfer knowledge into practice at clinical and health system levels
• provide education for consumers, service providers, policy makers and students"
- incl. links to: What's New - Our Research - Online Publications - List of Articles & Books - Measures & Multimedia - Browse by Theme - External Links - Order Form - Contact Us
Source:
McMaster University Faculty of Health Science

Canadian Association for Young Children

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA)

Slow progress wins Nova Scotia a failing grade in the fight against child poverty among Canadian provinces
Press Release
November 24, 2003
"HALIFAX: A report released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives finds that Canada and Nova Scotia have lost ground in efforts to reduce child poverty. 'Promises to Keep: The Nova Scotia Child Poverty Report Card 2003' finds that child poverty today is worse than it was in 1989 when Canadian parliamentarians determined that child poverty should end by the year 2000."

Complete report (PDF file - 132K, 18 pages)

Offord Centre for Child Studies (formerly the Canadian Centre for Studies of Children at Risk)
- The mission of the Canadian Centre for Studies of Children at Risk is to improve life quality of children in Canada by reducing the suffering and disadvantage associated with children's emotional and behavioural problems.

The Effects of Breakfast on Children's Mood, Behaviour and Ability to Learn
Prepared By Aurelia T. Shaw, Yvonne Racine and David R. Offord
- see Appendix C - How is the Problem of School Hunger Addressed in Canada?
- see also Appendix D - Identifying Populations for Breakfast Programs : Undernourished children and children from low-income families

Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children - " ...for the promotion and protection of children's rights in Canada and abroad"
"The mandate of the Coalition is to ensure a collective voice for Canadian organizations and youth concerned with the rights of children as described in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the World Summit for Children Declaration. Formed in 1989 after the unanimous adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child at the United Nations General Assembly, the Coalition has grown to include over 50 national and provincial non-government organizations (NGOs) committed to promoting and protecting the rights of children in Canada and abroad."
- incl. links to : More About the Coalition - Our members, and links to their sites - UN Special Session on Children - How Does Canada Measure Up? Say it Right - Quiz

Canadian Council on Social Development

Sample reports:

New report says NAFTA ignores economic well-being of our kids ( PDF - 74K, 2 pages)
Media Release
September 17, 2008

The Economic Well-being of Children
in Canada, the United States and Mexico (PDF - 1.2MB, 59 pages)
- examines a range of different measures to determine the economic security of children living in Canada, the United States and Mexico.

Source:
Growing Up in North America series

Related links:

Children in North America Project website
The Children in North America Project aims to highlight the conditions and well-being of children and youth in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Through a series of indicator reports, the project hopes to build a better understanding of how our children are faring and the opportunities and challenges they face looking to the future.

Partners in the project:

Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD)
The Annie E. Casey Foundation (U.S.)
Population Reference Bureau (U.S.)
Red por los Derechos de la Infancia (Mexico)

Child Health and Safety
June 4, 2007
In conjunction with our partners in Mexico and the United States, the Canadian Council on Social Development has released Child Health and Safety, a new report in the Children in North America series. It provides indicator data on the physical, mental and environmental health of children.
- incl. links to Growing Up in North America (May 2006) and other related material

Complete report:
* Child Health and Safety in Canada, the United States and Mexico
(PDF file - 1 MB, 64 pages)

* Executive summary: Child Health and Safety in Canada, the United States and Mexico
(PDF format, 241 kb)

Français:
* Le bien-être des enfants au Canada, aux États-Unis et au Mexique (format PDF, 1 Mo)
* Sommaire executif: Le bien-être des enfants au Canada, aux États-Unis et au Mexique (format PDF, 244 kb)

Related Links:

Children in North America Project website
The Children in North America Project aims to highlight the conditions and well-being of children and youth in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Through a series of indicator reports, the project hopes to build a better understanding of how our children are faring and the opportunities and challenges they face looking to the future.

Partners in the project:

Canadian Council on Social Development
The Annie E. Casey Foundation (U.S.)
Population Reference Bureau (U.S.)
Red por los Derechos de la Infancia (Mexico)

First-of-its-Kind Report Examines Child Well-Being in Canada, United States and Mexico:
Economic and Social Integration Have Profound Effect On 120 Million Children in North America (PDF file - 36K, 2 pages)
Press Release - May 2, 2006
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new report that examines the state of child well-being in North America – Growing Up in North America: Child Well-Being in Canada, the United States & Mexico – reveals that gains in human development across the continent have not kept pace with the last decade’s dramatic advances in technology, trade, and investment. In this first-of-its-kind report issued today, the three project partners – the Canadian Council on Social Development, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Red por los Derechos de la Infancia en México – call for attention to child well-being against a backdrop of economic and social change in North America.

Growing Up in North America:
Child Well-being in Canada, the United States and Mexico
May 2006
- includes links to:
* Complete report (PDF file - 1MB, 50 pages)
* Executive Summary (PDF file - 92K, 2 pages)
* Fact Sheet (PDF file - 35K, 2 pages)
* Press Release: Economic and Social Integration Have Profound Effect On 120 Million Children in North America (see above)
* From canada.com (May 1): Well-being of children may be overlooked as Canada, U.S., Mexico grow closer
* CCSD Op Ed [March 2006]: Message to Harper, Bush and Fox: Shortsighted to ignore 120 million kids
* Grandir en Amérique du Nord [French] (PDF file - 1.2MB., 56 pages)
* Creciendo en América del Norte [Spanish] (PDF)
* Children in North America Project website

Project partners:

Annie E. Casey Foundation
Since 1948, the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) has worked to build better futures for disadvantaged children and their families in the United States. The primary mission of the Foundation is to foster public policies, human service reforms, and community supports that more effectively meet the needs of today's vulnerable children and families.

Red por los Derechos de la Infancia en México (site available only in Spanish)

--------------------------------------

Some families losing ground
in effort to provide stable family incomes
Media Release
April 26, 2006
OTTAWA – One-third of Canadian children living in poverty have a parent who works at a full-time job, according to a new report by the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD). The Progress of Canada's Children and Youth 2006 also shows that this situation is deteriorating. In 1993, one-quarter of poor children had a parent who worked full time. "Family income is recognized as one of the keys to healthy child development," says Dr. Peter Bleyer, CCSD President. "Yet job security eludes many Canadian parents, and that has an enormous impact on what their kids eat, how they learn, and where they play." Temporary, part-time, contract, and seasonal employment now make up 37% of Canadian jobs, compared to 25% in the mid-1970s. The CCSD report also shows that investing in children through government transfers brought the child poverty rate down from 27% to 18% in 2003.

Complete report:

The Progress of Canada's Children & Youth
HTML version
- incl. links to : Portrait - Family Life - Economic Security - Physical Safety - Community Resources - Civic Vitality - Health Status - Social Engagement - Learning - Labour Force Profile of Youth - Data Sources - Web-Only Supplementary Data - Tools - Contact Us - Français
PDF version (2.5MB, 84 pages)
Tools - links to individual PDF files for each chapter of the report, plus fact sheets, press release, etc.

Source:
Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD)

Child Care for a Change!Shaping the 21st Century
Childcare & Early Learning Conference
November 12-14, 2004
Winnipeg Convention Centre

"The Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) is the host of the conference “Child Care For A Change! Shaping the 21st Century." The conference will take place at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, in Winnipeg, from November 12th to 14th, 2004. This exciting pan-Canadian conference will feature inspiring speakers such as UN Special Envoy Stephen Lewis and Quebec Education Critic Pauline Marois. It will provide ample time for a rich dialogue and debate during sessions like the special Town Hall Meeting on Child Care. It is expected that the ideas generated from the conference will influence public policy and public perception about early learning and child care and help set the agenda for the next decade."
General Info - Program (incl. list of 15 workshops)- Speakers - Papers - Registration - Accommodation

 

The Progress of Canada's Children 2002 November 4, 2002 - incl. links to : Communiqué - Highlights - Backgrounder - Ontario Backgrounder - Speaking Notes The Progress of Canada's Children 2001 Canadian Council on Social Development March 27, 2001 Communiqué Backgrounder Highlights Section 1: Table of Contents, Intro, Highlights (Acrobat Reader required) We need to build on the National Children's Agenda and take it beyond early childhood development, to create a national, coherent approach to providing supports for children of all age groups.

National Child Day is here – but will children with special needs be celebrating?
Communiqué
November 20, 2001
Ottawa – The Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) today marked National Child Day with the release of a report highlighting the difficulties and barriers facing children with special needs – problems which should be diminishing, given the Prime Minister’s public commitment to Canada’s children in the last Speech from the Throne, but which in fact remain daunting.
Executive Summary
Full Report Online (PDF file - 281K, 56 pages)

The Incidence and Depth of Child Poverty in Recession and Recovery: Some Preliminary Lessons on Child Benefits
Background Notes for a Presentation to the House of Commons Subcommittee on Children and Youth at Risk
June 6, 2001
Andrew Jackson
"While the NCB itself appears to be working as intended, higher provincial social assistance benefits are clearly needed to reduce the depth of child poverty."

Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance, detailing our priorities for the 2000 federal budget
October 26, 1999
- "To lay the conditions for future social cohesion and sustainable economic prosperity shared by all, the CCSD is calling for a Children's Budget focused on the critical needs of Canadian children, youth and families"
- incl. "Reinvesting in the Social Infrastructure" - improvements to the NCA and NCB, for example...
"The CCSD also recommends that the government index the child benefit system to inflation (at an estimated cost of $200 million per year) and ensure that benefits flow to all poor children, including those living in families that rely on social assistance."

Income and Child Well-being: A new perspective on the poverty debate
by David P. Ross and Paul Roberts
May 1999

Rethinking Child Poverty - David Ross,summer 1999

Child Poverty in Canada: Recasting the Issue - David Ross, Toronto April 1998
"According to the Fraser [Institute] analysis, child poverty is really only a problem among those who live in families where incomes are so low that the parents cannot even afford adequate food and shelter (...) let me remind them that Canada is not a Third World country."

Overview: Children in Canada in the 1990s
David P. Ross, Katherine Scott and Mark A. Kelly
November 1996
 (53 pages, PDF file, 775K)
- Data for 1994-95 National Longitudinal Study of Children and Youth (first Internet edition 1998)

Canadian Child Care Federation
"The overall mission of the Canadian Child Care Federation is to improve the quality of child care services for Canadian families."
- incl. links to : Affiliates -About Us - Membership - Networks - Press Room - Projects - Publications - Search - Links

Links to Affiliates - links to the websites of 14 affiliates of the CCF

Canadian Children's Rights Council
"The Canadian Children's Rights Council was formed in the early 1990's to monitor compliance of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in Canada. (...) We are a non-profit, non governmental educational and advocacy organization dedicated to supporting the rights and responsibilities of Canadian children. (...) We are a member of the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN), an international, world-wide organization which is comprised of over 2000 member children's rights organizations."
- highly recommended site - tons of content!
- covers many aspects of children's rights, including child poverty, child and youth justice, children's identity rights, child protection, parental alienation syndrome and much more...
- large section devoted to education about the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child + analysis of the Government of Canada's actions and reports to the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Canadian Children's Rights Council Links
- 200+ links in the following areas:
* United Nations * Human Rights Commissions in Canada * Human Rights Commissions in countries other than Canada * Child Genital Mutilation * Child Abuse * The Child Rights Information Network (CRIN ) * Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) * Youth Suicide * Children's Identity Rights / Children's Identity Fraud / Paternity Fraud * Child Poverty * ADHD - Ritlan * National Child Day * Canadian Family Law / Parent support Groups * Canadian University Human Rights Related Sites * International Children's Rights Links * Non-Canadian University / College Human Rights Related Sites * Canadian University Law Schools * Other Links of Interest

Table of Contents - large collection of online resources, mostly news articles

Canadian Education on the Web - Everything fro