Katie Hyslop, TheTyee.ca
EXCERPT ONLY
Marta Maurás has heard a lot about Canada’s children in the past year. As vice president of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, she has both read and commissioned reports regarding the care, education, and services for available for Canadian youth. …
Maurás came to Canada on invitation from the Canadian Council of Child and Youth Advocates (CCCYA). CCCYA President Mary Ellen Turpel LaFond, who also serves as B.C.’s Representative for Children and Youth, is pleased Maurás got to speak with marginalized Aboriginal, refugee and immigrant youth directly. …
While the timing was coincidence, children’s advocates believe politicians and governments still don’t recognize the importance of adhering to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Canada ratified in 1991,
“We weren’t able to show her everything, but I feel very strongly that she got enough of an understanding of what are our challenges in Canada to support vulnerable children,” she said…
In a press release issued by the CCCYA yesterday, Maurás repeated other recommendations from her committee, including free childcare and pre-school and more attention paid to children’s mental health.
“In this country, the coverage of care from zero to three (years old) and thereafter in preschool is not that big,” she told The Tyee.
“It should be much larger given the levels of development of Canada, and we know again from research that most of the obstacles have to do with the fact that families have difficulties in ensuring that care is provided, and therefore public investment, state investment in childcare is a very smart thing to do.”
The Tyee contacted Human Resources and Skills Development Canada regarding childcare, but was eventually redirected us to Justice Canada, whose media office was closed for the day. …
No money for universal childcare: BC government
During her four-day visit, Maurás was in Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick. In addition to youth she met with First Nations and Aboriginal leaders and provincial politicians in Quebec. …
MET Lafond… “I would have personally, as representative (for children and youth), very much have liked her to come to B.C. and see both the rural and urban contexts for children and to see that in a province that has some of the highest wealth, we have the second worst child poverty,” she said.
Some of Maurás’ recommendations affect provincial governments, as well, particularly early childhood education. In response to her comments on free early childhood education and pre-school, a communications representative from B.C.’s Ministry of Children and Family Development told The Tyee via email the UN Convention is one “guiding principle” they reference in their work.
“We recognize the challenges that B.C. families face in finding and accessing quality and affordable child care. That’s why our government invested $365 million over three years for full-day Kindergarten for five year olds, at no cost to parents. This is improving early learning while reducing child-care pressure on families,” reads the statement, adding
government has increased funding for childcare over 40 per cent to $296 million since 2000/01.
“Unfortunately, implementing universal child care in B.C. is simply not feasible, given our current economic climate. The cost of implementing universal child care has been estimated at up to $2-billion per year.”…