The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, it being 4 p.m., the Senate will proceed to Question Period. The minister will take her seat, and we will then proceed.

Hon. Senators: Question.

The Hon. the Speaker: Are honourable senators ready for the question?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, I’m pleased to rise today to speak to Bill S-282, An Act respecting a national strategy for children and youth in Canada.

Bill S-282 encapsulates Senator Moodie’s vision contained within her report From Vision to reality: On a National Strategy for Children and Youth in Canada. I would like to thank Senator Moodie for her efforts in getting this bill before us today.

The report opens with this statement:

Canada’s children deserve every opportunity to grow and flourish. They make up a significant portion of our population, yet despite Canada’s human rights obligations they remain underserved by current government policies. Canada’s children and youth are the future of the country and will be tomorrow’s innovators, leaders, creators, healers, and builders.

As a former educator, I understand well how early intervention can impact the future of children. A national strategy for children must include a recognition of fundamental principles to protect and promote children’s rights. Children must not be seen merely as passive recipients of care and protection but as active advocates for such rights.

To be successful, it must include the right to be heard. Every child has a voice, and it is our duty to ensure that their opinions are considered in matters that affect them. This principle is not just about listening but also creating avenues for meaningful participation in decision-making processes.

It must include the right to health and well-being, including access to quality health care, nutritious food, clean water and safe environments. It must address the importance of quality education that is inclusive and free from discrimination. Education is not just a right but a powerful tool that can break the cycle of poverty and open opportunities for children to reach their full potential.

We must ensure that children are protected from violence, abuse and neglect, and that we create robust systems to safeguard children from harm and provide support to those who have been affected by such experiences. A national strategy must include comprehensive measures to safeguard children in all settings: home, school and community.

No national strategy would be complete without consideration of Indigenous children in Canada. I am pleased to see that Bill S-282 not only takes this into consideration but specifically mentions the need to address UNDRIP and include Indigenous governing bodies and communities in the process. UNDRIP also emphasizes the importance of education that respects Indigenous cultures and languages. For Indigenous children and youth, this means access to education that reflects their cultural heritage and strengthens their identity. It also highlights the need for mainstream educational systems to incorporate Indigenous perspectives and knowledge, fostering an environment of mutual respect and understanding.

As well, we must not forget the key roles of family, community and parents in children’s upbringing. My experiences as a mother and educator have underscored how parents are the most influential caregivers in a child’s life. Parents serve as the cornerstone of emotional nurturing and attachment for a child. The deep connection established in the early stages of life profoundly influences the child’s emotional stability and overall well-being. It is through parents that children first learn vital social and ethical principles. By exemplifying behaviours and teaching empathy, parents are instrumental in shaping their children’s ethical compass. These initial teachings are the foundation upon which children build their future interpersonal bonds and moral choices.

Raising children is a challenging endeavour, filled with trial and error. Parents want what is best for their children. They want them to behave, be productive members of society and understand the rules and nuances of getting along with others. Parenting is simply the act and attitude of unconditional love.

Children thrive in environments where they are loved and supported. A national framework should include policies that strengthen families and build resilient communities. Children are not raised in isolation; policies that affect parents will impact children.

To conclude, honourable senators, a national strategy for children and youth in Canada must be a continual reminder of our obligations and the ongoing efforts required to ensure that every child can enjoy their rights fully and equally. I support sending this important bill to committee for further study and commend Senator Moodie once more for her dedication to supporting and empowering children and youth.

Hon. Jane Cordy: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak at second reading in support of Bill S-282, An Act respecting a national strategy for children and youth in Canada. I would also like to acknowledge Senator Moodie and her tireless efforts in advocating for the protection of Canadian children and youth, whether in her life as a pediatrician or with this bill and her previous attempts to establish an office of the commissioner for children and youth in Canada.

Honourable senators, Bill S-282 is a natural extension of the government’s commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in November 1989 and ratified by Canada in December 1991. The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most ratified United Nations treaty to date. Almost 200 nations have signed on.

It is unfortunate that it is now 25 years since the adoption of the resolution, and a national Canadian strategy may now need to be established to meet our commitments under the treaty. That’s not to say the federal government has been idle. In 1989, with all-party support, Parliament pledged to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000. Unfortunately, they had to renew this pledge in 2009 and then again in 2015.

Earlier this year, we amended and passed in this place Bill C-35, an act respecting early learning and child care in Canada, which set out the Government of Canada’s commitment to maintaining long-term funding relating to early learning and child care across Canada and created the National Advisory Council on Early Learning and Child Care.

More recently, we saw the federal government commit $1 billion to support school meal programs across the country to provide meals to vulnerable students to help meet their nutritional needs.

The child care agreements and the food program support are excellent examples of the government recognizing and addressing specific gaps in child and youth needs in Canada. However, what seems to be missing and what Bill S-282 aims to accomplish is to have the government consider a more holistic approach when it comes to investing in the well-being and growth of Canada’s children and youth.

Bill S-282 proposes to establish a national strategy that would facilitate collaboration across jurisdictions to meet the needs of Canadian children and youth and to ensure their right to a standard of living adequate for their physical, mental, spiritual and social development.

We have a challenging task ahead of us. After several years of a pandemic — which was very hard on families, especially on children — with armed conflicts around the world and unprecedented global population displacement, the plight of children’s rights worldwide has deteriorated significantly over a short period of time. Reversing these trends will take time and hard work.

In the 2023 KidsRights Index report, it was stated:

These events, alongside others, have resulted in the loss of lives, denial of basic rights, unfulfilled needs, a limiting of potential, and an increase in poverty levels, which are affecting children in every country across the world and will continue to do so for generations.

They also found that one in four children worldwide now live in poverty. Honourable senators, that number is astounding and unacceptable.

The KidsRights Index is the only global ranking survey that annually measures how children’s rights are respected worldwide and also to what extent countries are committed to improving the rights of children.

The KidsRights Index is an initiative of the KidsRights foundation, which works in cooperation with Erasmus University Rotterdam: the Erasmus School of Economics and the International Institute of Social Studies. It comprises a ranking of all UN member states that have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and for which sufficient data is available. As of 2023, a total of 193 countries are part of the index.

Honourable senators, Canada is not insulated from the detrimental factors affecting children’s rights worldwide. We know all too well that the cost of living has risen significantly, with grocery prices and home prices rising, along with a housing crisis that is drastically affecting Canada’s most vulnerable and marginalized. Today, over 1 million Canadian children live below the poverty line. In my province of Nova Scotia, we have seen the poverty rate rise as well.

According to the 2023 report card on child and family poverty in Nova Scotia, by Campaign 2000 and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives:

The 2023 child poverty report card records a rate increase in Nova Scotia in 2021 from 18.4% to 20.5%—this 11.4% increase is the highest single-year increase since 1989 when the promise was made to eradicate child poverty by the year 2000. A poverty rate of 20.5% represents 35,330 children living in low-income families, or more than 1 in 5 children in Nova Scotia.

The significant rise in the cost of living and the end of government pandemic financial supports were seen as the biggest factors for this trend.

Colleagues, subparagraph 4(2)(a)(i) of the bill clearly states that a national strategy for children and youth in Canada must include the elimination of child poverty in Canada. As poverty might be a major root cause of other challenges for children in Canada, it should not be the sole focus of a national strategy. Mitigating the effects of climate change, institutional and systemic racism and child exploitation and abuse, as well as ensuring access to health care and safety are all factors.

UNICEF Canada’s Canadian Index of Child and Youth Well-being 2019 Baseline Report looked at 125 different indicators for each child to map their well-being and track government progress. The index brings a wide range of data together into one framework to encourage a comprehensive and balanced view of how kids in Canada are faring and where gaps exist. This data should serve as a guide for government policy and focus.

Honourable senators, it has been several tumultuous years for Canadians due to the pandemic, world conflicts and unprecedented global population displacements. Bill S-282 and its call for a national strategy for children and youth in Canada mandates constant vigilance and assessment through reporting to Parliament at regular intervals. An effective national strategy must be based on policies derived from solid, comprehensive scientific evidence and data, as well as respect for and collaboration with the different jurisdictions that make up Canada, including Indigenous governing bodies and organizations that serve and represent First Nations, Inuit and Métis children and youth.

Honourable senators, goals and milestones must be regularly assessed and policies must be able to pivot and be revised when necessary. To quote the Canadian Index of Child and Youth Well-being 2019 Baseline Report:

The true measure of a nation’s standing is how well it attends its children – their health and safety, their material security, their education and socialization, and their sense of being loved, valued, and included in the families and societies to which they were born.

For our sake, honourable senators, and that of future generations, let us show our children that they were born into a country that values them and their successes and truly considers all aspects of their care.

Again, I wish to thank Senator Moodie for her dedication to Canada’s youth and her hard work on the issue of their well-being. I look forward to hearing from Canadians when this bill is sent to committee. Thank you.

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!

[English]

Hon. Chantal Petitclerc: Honourable senators, I’d like to speak briefly in support of Bill S-282, An Act respecting a national strategy for children and youth in Canada. The bill defines the principles and framework that the federal government will use to develop a comprehensive action plan. I thank Senator Moodie for introducing it and for her ongoing contribution to improving our children’s quality of life as a pediatrician, a neonatologist and, now, a parliamentarian.

[English]

Colleagues, Canada is indeed a big country. From the busy streets of Montreal or Toronto to the serene landscapes of British Columbia — from coast to coast to coast — lies our greatest treasure: our children and youth, who are vulnerable and need to be treated as a priority.

This bill, as stated in its preamble, reminds us that despite all the love and care we have for them, we do not yet have, as a country, a clear vision or objectives for their well-being.

[Translation]

Despite numerous investments, the most recent of which is the National School Food Program, we’re not taking care of our children as well as we think. In this speech, I’d like to highlight a number of aspects that I believe must be part of any action plan if we want to see real change.

It’s well known and well documented that too many children still live in poverty. In addition, children and young people’s mental health leaves much to be desired. A 2023 study by the Conference Board of Canada and Children’s Healthcare Canada, a pan-Canadian children’s health advocacy organization, found that some 1.6 million Canadian children and adolescents suffer from mental disorders. What’s more, tens of thousands of them are waiting months, even years, for adequate treatment.

Far too many Canadians between the ages of 5 and 17 are overweight or obese. They’re not moving enough. We know this. The national grade for physical activity in the 2024 ParticipACTION Report Card is just D+.

Only 39% of 5- to 17-year-olds met the recommendation, which is to log 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day.

[English]

Children’s Healthcare Canada released a report in May 2004 that found that overall child health outcomes in Canada are deteriorating year after year. This organization is categoric:

 . . . our historically siloed, patchwork approach to tackling the complex health and social needs of children, youth and families is failing kids, their healthcare providers, and quite frankly, the future of our country.

[Translation]

We all want our children to grow up under the best possible conditions, whether they come from a low- or high-income household. These days, it’s hard to know how to make this happen, what resources are adequate to the task, what outcomes are to be expected and what quantifiable indicators are needed to evaluate those outcomes.

[English]

It is possible to fill this gap. Senator Moodie’s intention through her bill is to bring us back to our responsibility as stewards of their future, to ensure that every child in Canada is afforded the opportunity to thrive, to grow and to flourish.

[Translation]

On that score, the bill is clear: The proposed strategy has to be rooted in the principle of inclusivity. All children, regardless of their socio-economic background, ethnicity or place of birth, deserve access to the same opportunities and resources needed for them to thrive and grow.

[English]

Education is at the core of any effort to promote children’s well-being. As the great Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” We must invest in our educational systems, ensuring they are equipped to nurture the talents and aspirations of every child. This includes fostering a culture of creativity, critical thinking and compassion, empowering our youth to become active participants in shaping a better tomorrow.

[Translation]

I’m confident that the proposed strategy will enable us to value the interconnecting factors that influence a child’s well-being. To focus exclusively on their physical health or academic success is not enough. Social, emotional and psychological factors also require consideration.

Of course, no child or youth well-being strategy would be complete without considering their safety and protection.

We have to confront the cruel realities of child abuse, neglect and exploitation, while working tirelessly to create a society where every child feels safe, valued and loved. This requires strong laws and adequate social services, as well as a cultural shift that puts the well-being of children first. We know that Indigenous children face many challenges.

[English]

According to Children First Canada’s Raising Canada 2023 report:

It is well established that First Nation, Métis, and Inuit youth are more likely to experience poorer mental health outcomes than their non-Indigenous counterparts . . . .

[Translation]

They are at greater risk of living in poverty than any other children in Canada. Let’s not forget that 53.8% of children in foster care are Indigenous, even though they represent only 7.7% of the country’s child population.

[English]

In crafting a Canadian strategy for children and youth, we must engage with Indigenous communities in a spirit of partnership and reconciliation. For too long, Indigenous children have faced systemic barriers to their well-being, stemming from a legacy of colonization and marginalization. It is imperative that we listen to their voices, honour their traditions and work together toward a future where every Indigenous child can thrive within their own cultural context.

Furthermore, in our quest for the well-being of children and youth, it will be important for us to recognize and address the unique needs of children and youth with disabilities. There are about 850,000 in Canada, and these children are often neglected or marginalized by society, and their voices too often silenced by stereotypes and ignorance.

[Translation]

Children with disabilities face a multitude of challenges in their daily lives, ranging from physical barriers to social stigma. However, it’s not their disabilities that define them, but rather their resilience, strength and unlimited potential. As a society, we have a moral obligation to ensure that every child, regardless of ability, has the opportunity to thrive and succeed.

This begins with access to education, health care and support services tailored to the unique needs of children with disabilities. This means investing in inclusive classrooms, where all children are valued for their contributions and are equipped with the tools they need to reach their full potential. It also means ensuring that our health care system is equipped to provide specialized care and support to children with disabilities and their families.

Beyond access to services, we also need to confront the attitudes and prejudices that too often limit the opportunities available to children with disabilities. We need to challenge the stereotypes that still portray them as “less capable.”

What’s more, we need to equip children with disabilities to become active participants in their own lives and advocate for their rights and needs. That means providing them with the tools and resources they need to express themselves, make decisions and pursue their dreams. It means fostering a sense of self-confidence and self-esteem that will make all the difference for these kids.

By doing so, we’ll not only help children with disabilities achieve more, but also enrich society as a whole, because diversity is not a weakness to be overcome, but a strength to be celebrated. When we embrace each child’s unique abilities and perspectives, we open up all kinds of opportunities and possibilities for them.

In closing, honourable senators, as we chart our course toward a national strategy for children and youth, let’s remember the words of the great disability rights activist, Helen Keller, who said, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

Together, then, let’s build a Canada where every child, regardless of ability, has the opportunity to thrive, succeed and aim high. Thank you. Meegwetch.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, when shall this bill be read the third time?

(On motion of Senator Moodie, bill referred to the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology.)

The Hon. the Speaker: Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

(Motion agreed to.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator Duncan, calling the attention of the Senate to the one hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary of the Yukon Act, an Act of Parliament adopted on June 13, 1898.

Some Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

Hon. Sharon Burey: Honourable senators, I rise today in support of Bill S-282, An Act respecting a national strategy for children and youth.

As a pediatrician, mother, grandmother and now senator, I would like to thank Senator Moodie for introducing this bill. It is particularly relevant now, at this time, in this place, at this point in our history, as the country faces various global shocks such as the recovery following a historic pandemic whose long-term effects are now revealing themselves to us, as we grapple with climate change, economic instability, wars and security threats, declining productivity, a crisis of innovation and affordability, the widespread impact of the internet, social media and artificial intelligence, a national housing crisis, declining learning, growing school absenteeism, child poverty and food insecurity, record numbers of children and youth struggling with anxiety and depression, and the ongoing crisis in our health care systems, including those affecting children.

[English]

This speech is dedicated to my granddaughters, who are twin girls, Hope and Faith. The hope is that we as a country — as parliamentarians and as senators — will continue the vision and the promise of the work of others, especially another great Canadian, Senator Landon Pearson, the children’s senator. And the faith is that as a society, we will do the necessary substantive work to unleash the promise and potential of this country of ours.

This is a critical period in Canada’s development as a country. It was Nelson Mandela who said, “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”

Canada made significant gains in its commitment to the goals for outcomes for children and families; however, we are off track, and we have lost our focus. We have lost ground.

Bill S-282 is about getting us back on track and refocusing our energies on our goals, objectives and outcomes when it comes to children and families. At its core, it is about who we are as a nation.

Dear colleagues, we are called to enshrine in law our values, as we did with our Constitution and Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Make no mistake: Our words become worlds. What we write, say and do matters, and it shapes our reality and our collective future.

Yes, we still must continue the work of perfecting our co-operative federalism, being mindful of the division of powers and responsibilities at the federal, provincial, territorial and Indigenous levels of governing bodies, and of becoming a more inclusive society. We have to retool our focus, as this bill sets out in the preamble, respecting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child; the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; upholding our commitment to truth and reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples; addressing vulnerable, marginalized, Black and racialized youth; two-spirit and LGBTQIA+ youth; children and youth living with disabilities; and, I would add, respecting our commitments to official language and minority language rights.

The legislative journey of Bill S-282 builds on Bill C-371 when, in 1993, the Government of Canada passed the national Child Day Act, which led to National Child Day being celebrated on November 20 and marked the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was ratified in 1989. It builds on the life and policy work of Senator Landon Pearson and the various provincial, territorial and Indigenous partnership tables’ shared objectives and Canada’s 2030 Agenda National Strategy.

What we need now, colleagues, is to enshrine into law these ongoing policies and programs that represent our values. We have all of the ingredients.

In making the case for this bill, I propose to share with you some of the work, again, of Senator Landon Pearson, findings from UNICEF Report Card 18, data trends that are emerging from the Statistics Canada Sustainable Development Goals Data Hub, a recent report from the Conference Board of Canada and anecdotes from my own professional experience. I hope to show that the lack of a cohesive strategy and plan is harming our children and costing us trillions of dollars.

Dear colleagues, in 2004, Senator Landon Pearson spearheaded the work and release of the landmark report called A Canada Fit for Children. The report set out a road map towards a common Canadian vision for children, a plan of action and how to create a Canada fit for children. It set strategies, goals and actions.

The report also pointed out what metrics and outcomes could monitor progress and keep us on track, and it ended with an impressive summary of Government of Canada investments and commitments to children.

But colleagues, we are off track. Let me share some sobering statistics with you. UNICEF Report Card 18 compares levels of child poverty in the richest countries, the progress they have been making to end child poverty and how well the policies protect every child from poverty. Canada ranked 19 out of 39 countries on child poverty. Over 1 million children are growing up in poverty. These are 2021 figures, and we know that these numbers are increasing.

Children had the highest rates of food insecurity among all groups in 2022, which translates to 1.8 million children. Get this, colleagues: Under-five mortality ranks thirty-fourth, which slipped from twelfth place in 2013.

I would also underscore that all of these parameters are magnified in vulnerable, Black and Indigenous children and youth. Suicide among Indigenous youth is among the highest in the world. Canada is struggling and failing to fulfill its commitments to Jordan’s Principle and fully fund child and social welfare for Indigenous children.

Colleagues, according to Statistics Canada SDG Data Hub Goal 3 — ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages; and targets and indicators for adopting healthy behaviours, for example, that by March 31, 2022, 30% of Canadians report eating fruits or vegetables five or more times per day — targets show we are in the red zone and deteriorating. This is where the recently announced National School Food Program may be helpful. So far, research has shown that these types of interventions work and improve academic performance and nutrition indicators, and may reduce obesity in children.

Regarding the prevalence of vaping, another target is that by 2030, less than 10% of students in grades 7 to 12 will have used a vaping product in the past 30 days. Targets and indicators again show we are in the red zone and deteriorating. With regard to the prevalence of harmful alcohol use by those 12 to 17 years of age, again, we are in the red zone and deteriorating.

As Senator Greenwood noted in her speech a few weeks ago, Canada has access to a Child Rights Impact Assessment tool, but there are no mandatory requirements for governments to use it. This tool has been developed to help governments and non-governmental organizations assess whether policy proposals will improve the well-being of children and youth. It is grounded in a child’s rights approach.

Senator Greenwood remarks that:

. . . if the Government of Canada can mandate gender equality, privacy and environmental protection in its decision-making processes, then it is time for us to include a child rights impact assessment.

Thank you, Senator Greenwood. It is truly an honour to be working alongside you.

Recent reports point to rising rates of school absenteeism in elementary and high school. Having said that, there is no nationally collected data set for school absenteeism in Canada.

According to a CBC article from just a few weeks ago, Maria Rogers, a child psychologist and Canada Research Chair in Child and Youth Mental Health and Well-Being at Carleton University, said:

If we don’t have the data to show that our children are missing tremendous amounts of school, far more than they have in the past . . . then it’s easy to look the other way . . .

She went on to say that, “. . . academic achievement, broadly speaking, is one of the top predictors worldwide of a healthy adulthood.”

Colleagues, the data and trends are overwhelming. What we are doing is not working. We are at an inflection point, a crossroads, and we must decide how we are going to meet this challenge and meet the moment.

Important recommendations from UNICEF Report Card 18 are worth reading. I want to highlight one of these recommendations: institute a child-focused budgetary tracking system for the allocation and use of resources through the budget.

Let me share a few anecdotes from my own experiences.

Having dedicated my career to the well-being of children, as many of you have, and having worked in the area of children’s mental health for most of my career as a pediatrician, understanding the social determinants of health inclusive of an ecological paradigm, an ecological, biological and psychosocial approach, helped me navigate the best path forward with patients and families.

If a child was referred to me for behavioural issues, it was important to understand that there were various factors contributing to the child’s presentation. Was it a hearing or vision issue? Was it a learning issue, or perhaps ADHD, along with child poverty, inadequate housing and/or a parent struggling with mental health challenges? This understanding is what allowed me to advocate for the best interests of the child.

It was extremely complex because we are dealing with silos of systems within silos of care, as well as the intersection of health, education, social and justice systems.

The situation continues to exist across agencies, organizations and federal, provincial and territorial governments, despite calls for action and partnership agreements.

Finally, colleagues, let me just draw your attention to a report from the Conference Board of Canada, Nurturing Minds for Secure Futures, released in December 2023, and the cost of not having a whole-of-society strategy. Key findings include that 1.6 million children and youth in Canada are estimated to have a mental health disorder.

It also states:

Without timely investments, the lifetime cost of just one cohort of children with onset of anxiety and/or depression at the age of 10 is close to $1 trillion.

It also finds that investments in children’s mental health today, with a focus on accessible, inclusive programming for vulnerable populations, can save $28 billion annually.

Colleagues, think about this for a minute. Further reports show the positive impact on GDP over time. A key recommendation is to develop and fund a pan-Canadian child health strategy with mental health as a key pillar, investing in evidence-informed, outcomes-based programs, and creating a national data strategy.

In closing, I want to thank Senator Moodie for her vision in bringing this bill forward and her team for working on it so diligently.

Our children are our most precious gifts and resource. Without vibrant, healthy youth, our society and country will face existential threats. Bill S-282 is the next step in the journey to codify in our laws what we have been trying to do in truly making Canada a country fit for children.

We have the chance, all of us sitting here right now, to take the baton from Senator Landon Pearson in the relay race in the life of our country and ensure that all our children have the brightest future possible — no child left behind.

I end where I began, with my granddaughters, Hope and Faith. As you think of your own children and grandchildren, grandnieces, grandnephews, remember that it takes a village to raise a child. They are depending on us. I urge you, dear colleagues, after careful consideration and further debate, to vote to move this bill to the committee stage. Thank you. Meegwetch.

(On motion of Senator Martin, debate adjourned.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Gerba, seconded by the Honourable Senator Klyne, for the second reading of Bill C-282, An Act to amend the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act (supply management).

Hon. Marilou McPhedran: I have a question for Senator Moodie, if that is allowed.

Senator Moodie, it was a very comprehensive speech, and I know it reflects extensive work by you and your team, and I thank you most sincerely.

I want to zero in on child poverty. Could you tell us a bit more about how this act and the strategy would accelerate, galvanize and inspire much more concrete action to eradicate child poverty in Canada?

Senator Moodie: The question you ask is so important, because it speaks to the entire strategy. How will the strategy do what it claims to want to do?

First of all, it allows us, as a country, to decide what we value and what we want for every child, and setting that principle down in writing and establishing it as our goal — the desired outcome — that we follow through with the information, frankly, we already have.

We have a lot of this information. There is a lot of civil society that can provide us with reams of data which tell us where we are failing, where things are actually working and what interventions have the most impact. If we can use an evaluative process that follows through on a declaration that starts with, “We want to eradicate child poverty,” then we can revisit and reassess as we go along from month to month and year to year in order to understand if it is working. What is working? How can we repurpose investments over here — that are not impactful — into the types of interventions that we know work? Then, we can accelerate, build momentum and move things along with real investment.

Many may actually say, “What is the cost of this?” I would propose that we save money by understanding where our investments work, and by pulling money from areas where, frankly, we are throwing mud against the wall and it is not sticking.

We need to understand that, and we need to bring in new policies that align so that we are constantly building, constantly refining and moving the needle more effectively — so we are distributing and upscaling what works in smaller areas and communities more broadly across our country, and we are allowing children to benefit from this well-organized, deliberate approach.

(On motion of Senator Martin, debate adjourned.)

[Translation]

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Housakos, seconded by the Honourable Senator Seidman:

That the Senate take note of:

(a)the deteriorating humanitarian crisis occurring in Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of Azerbaijan’s ongoing blockade of the Lachin corridor and increased military aggression against indigenous Armenian civilians in the region; and

(b)the actions of the Aliyev regime as being dictatorial, and in violation of international law; and

That the Senate call on the Government of Canada:

(a)to support the liberty of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and their right to self-determination;

(b)to immediately impose sanctions against the Azeri regime;

(c)to demand the immediate reopening of the Lachin corridor and the release of Armenian Prisoners of War;

(d)to provide a significant aid package through NGOs to those Armenian people forcefully displaced from their indigenous land; and

(e)to protect the Armenian people of Nagorno-Karabakh through the presence of international peacekeeping forces.

(On motion of Senator Petitclerc, debate adjourned.)

[English]

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator Boyer, calling the attention of the Senate to the positive contributions and impacts that Métis, Inuit, and First Nations have made to Canada, and the world.

Hon. Rosemary Moodie moved second reading of Bill S-282, An Act respecting a national strategy for children and youth in Canada.

She said: Honourable senators, if you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll never get there. Honourable colleagues, I think it’s safe to say that we all agree on this simple principle: The best way to arrive at a destination is to plan to get there. In other words, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Unfortunately, because of our lack of vision, direction and intention, we are planning to fail our children.

Canada’s 8 million children and youth are being failed by our public policies, including those meant to serve them. Why? Because we design policies without clear outcomes in mind. We implement programs without the resources needed to make conclusive change. We fail to support cross-sector collaboration or listen to those who need the most help.

We have become content with leaving thousands of children behind. Canada doesn’t have a vision for the health and well-being of our children and youth, and so they are left to be supported by a patchwork of programs, supports and benefits. This is not good enough.

This is why I have tabled before you today Bill S-282, An Act respecting a national strategy for children and youth in Canada.

This bill is a response to decades of failed approaches and half measures. It calls on the government to build a comprehensive strategy for our children and youth that sets a path to fulfill our obligation to give them healthy, happy and hopeful childhoods.

This bill sets out a framework for a strategy that identifies areas where we are failing children as well as areas where we are making important progress, and proposes a detailed plan of action to change the status quo once and for all, to ensure that every child is safe, happy and healthy.

This bill proposes that such a strategy would require defined outcomes and quantifiable indicators, because if we are serious about moving the needle for children here in Canada, we need good data to guide us along the way.

Bill S-282 is not and does not create the strategy, but sets a framework out for the creation of a strategy. A strong strategy, as set out in this bill, must be created through extensive consultation with Canadians. It would be a defined vision that reflects our values as a country when it comes to our children.

Colleagues, this is not a new idea. Over half of the 38 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, countries already have what the OECD calls “. . . an integrated policy plan for child well-being,” which is defined as “. . . a policy document that sets out the government’s approach to promoting child outcomes in several well-being domains. . . .” These plans aim to integrate existing — and sometimes competing — policy initiatives into a cohesive strategy for young people and formalizes cooperation between those responsible for implementing those policies.

Consider the New Zealand example. New Zealand set out ambitious targets to eradicate child poverty and took aggressive action through an action plan that captures the voice of children. This plan, adopted in legislation in late 2018, was New Zealand’s Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy . This legislative framework provides a powerful vision for the lives of New Zealand’s children and a plan to make it a reality, which involves collaboration between government and civil society rather than more silos.

Their plan has clear outcomes based on the social, economic and environmental factors necessary for children to thrive. Every outcome includes key actions and indicators for progress. New Zealand has also committed to accountability through annual reports on the strategy. Further, the government must report on the impact of every federal budget on reducing child poverty.

With this strategy, New Zealand has made its commitments to children clear and given the public the tools to hold them to account for delivering on their promises. This is a comprehensive approach to child and youth well-being. While we must have our own made-in-Canada strategy, this example points to what is possible.

Another jurisdiction that has taken strides in this area is the European Union. In 2019, the President of the European Commission announced the creation of a European Child Guarantee. This plan was a response to the social exclusion and poverty facing 25 million children throughout the EU. The European Child Guarantee’s goal is to guarantee children access to a set of basic services. It calls on member states to guarantee free early childhood education and care, free education, free health care, healthy nutrition and adequate housing. These are the basic building blocks to any safe, healthy and hopeful childhood.

In 2023, a pilot of the European Child Guarantee, delivered in partnership with UNICEF, concluded with promising results. Over 30,000 children and young adults across four countries — Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece and Italy — were reached with services and interventions based on the EU’s commitment to a vision centred on thriving, healthy childhoods.

These international developments demonstrate for us that the idea of presenting a dedicated vision for children’s well-being in a given country, paired with a plan to achieve it, is catching on worldwide. Faced with evidence that they are not adequately supporting the well-being of their youngest residents, countries around the world are choosing to take action rather than accept the status quo. We in Canada must choose action instead of accepting the status quo.

Colleagues, I can’t assume that you know of all the issues facing our children, but I think you are aware of many. You see them in your communities. You read about them in the media. You may even have seen them in your own circles. We need to assess where we are doing well regarding our aspirations for our children and where we are falling short.

And we are falling short, colleagues. We are failing to adequately support our children and youth in several areas. Too many children are falling through the gaps of our patchwork system of policies and programs. Let me highlight for you just a few of the areas where our current approach is less than successful — and where a strategy might help.

We are losing the battle on child poverty. Despite achieving a record low in child poverty rates in 2020, in large part due to CERB, over 1 million children in Canada still live in poverty today. In fact, we know that poverty rates are now rebounding as income supports stagnate and the cost of living rises. Campaign 2000’s recent child poverty report card notes that child poverty rates rose from 13.5% in 2020 to 15.6% a year later, a change that indicates over 160,000 kids plunged into poverty.

Families faced with poverty struggle to meet their children’s fundamental needs, whether that’s stable housing, access to education or food security. In other words, poverty has a crippling impact on a child’s well-being and can have devastating long-term consequences on children’s ability to learn and acquire skills, which in turn hinders their ability to find employment and avoid poverty as adults. The longer children live in poverty, the more likely they will experience poverty as adults.

In 1989, the House of Commons resolved to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000. Yet almost a quarter of a decade past that deadline, over 1 million children in Canada still live in poverty. If simply setting a target was enough, we would have solved this problem long ago.

This is why we need a strategy, colleagues, because targets without specific plans are empty if they don’t come with that very detailed evaluation, planning and monitoring. A strategy would not only set a target; it would give us a concrete plan of action matched with a series of indicators to constantly assess the effectiveness of what we’re doing. Children living in poverty and their families deserve more than just empty words — they are relying on us to create a sound plan that works.

But poverty is just one issue. Throughout Canada, many young children are experiencing long and costly delays in receiving essential health care services.

A growing body of evidence underscores the impact of decades of underinvestment in children’s health. According to data from 2018, only 35% of non-emergency surgeries in Canadian paediatric hospitals were completed within the recommended safe clinical time frame. Due to the pandemic, the situation was worsened, of course. The situation for mental health services is no better. In my province of Ontario, about 28,000 Ontario children and youth with mental health needs were reportedly on wait lists for treatment in 2020, with some waiting up to two and a half years for intensive treatment.

On top of this, an estimated 200,000 Ontario children with mental health issues received no mental health services at all because they lived in rural, remote or Northern communities where treatment programs are scarce.

Tossing more money at the situation is not the solution. It is not, on its own, enough. What is needed is a plan — a plan to move us towards equitable access to these essential services so that all children get care when they need it. Increasing funding needs to come with a commitment to monitor children’s health outcomes, the effectiveness of the spending across Canada and to assess the effectiveness of the interventions we’re using, not just the spending. This is why we need a strategy.

Alongside long-standing issues are ones that are rapidly developing and evolving in real time. Climate change and child safety are two such examples.

Climate change is a large, global and interconnected issue, one that is already having significant economic and social impacts across all aspects of our lives. The Canadian Paediatric Society has referred to climate change as the single largest global health threat of the 21st century. Increased injuries, deaths from extreme weather, negative effects on food yields leading to food insecurity, risk of displacement due to rising sea levels and negative health impacts from rising pollution are just a few of the consequences children will and are already facing — and this is just the impacts on children’s health.

What about the other impacts? Economic turmoil from a global economy under stress or educational disruptions due to natural disasters exacerbated by climate change? Are we doing enough and are we adequately preparing to support children through the impacts of rapidly changing climate?

As we take steps to address the climate crisis, we need to be ready to assess and to address the impacts on children as they arise. A strategy will help us here. In dealing with issues in constant flux, focusing on our desired outcomes will help us target what is most important and determine which interventions will have the biggest impact.

For example, let’s say one of the strategy’s desired outcomes is that children in Canada are safe and healthy. If progress in this area slows or reverses due to the impacts of climate change, the indicators the strategy monitors would alert us to this change — this new direction — and prompt us to quickly alter or adjust our policies and programs. A strategy would allow us to become more responsive, more effective in the steps we need to take to support our kids.

This world is a dangerous place for children, both online and offline. Our children are growing up in a digital age with widespread internet use that has become the norm. This increased digital exposure comes with challenges, such as a difficulty concentrating, inadequate sleep, decreased physical activity, weight gain and notably the heightened risk of cybervictimization. Cybervictimization is the experience of being targeted, harassed or victimized through online channels.

In 2019, Statistics Canada reported that 25% of youth aged 12 to 17 had encountered cyberbullying, including aggressive text messages or unwanted sexual content on various online platforms. As the internet evolves and changes, we need to do the same or risk leaving our children and youth behind.

The offline world is not necessarily safer. An alarming 2018 study published by Statistics Canada found that around 72% of Canadians experienced at least one incident of child maltreatment defined as an incident of physical or sexual abuse, harsh parenting or witnessing violence before the age of 15 years. High-profile cases of abuse in team sports and community-based organizations have shown that abuse of children in schools, sports and other community settings continues to be a pervasive threat here in Canada. We need to do better when it comes to young people’s safety, both online and off.

Children’s safety is a multi-faceted issue that has implications for all levels of government and our communities as a whole. This is a problem that can’t be solved by welfare agencies or by police alone. A national strategy would help us cohesively grasp the true scale of the issues, identify the causes and evaluate where our current efforts are falling short. What’s working and what’s not? It would help us implement a concrete plan to ensure that every child in Canada grows up safe and secure.

What all of these issues come down to is children’s well-being. Well-being is not just about being physically healthy, but also about feeling good emotionally, mentally and socially. It refers to a person’s overall state of health and happiness. When someone has a good sense of well-being, they tend to have more positive relationships, feel satisfied with their life and can cope with stress and challenges. Well-being is about feeling balanced, content and able to enjoy life to its fullest. As a country, we expect the government to ensure the basic building blocks toward well-being. This is not a high bar to clear, but unfortunately we are failing to meet it.

When children are waiting months for necessary medical care or are unable to get support for their mental health, they are not well. When children are going hungry or are being harmed by adults who are meant to protect them, they are not well. When we allow children to fall through the cracks of our patchwork system, they are not well. We can and we must do better.

Fortunately, we have something to build on. There is some good news. Existing programs aimed at children undoubtedly play crucial roles in supporting children across the country. However, these programs, while making positive strides, often fall short of the kind of strategic, holistic thinking we need to have for our children.

Consider the Canada Child Benefit, a tax-free benefit paid monthly to help eligible families with the cost of raising their children. For many families, this translates to hundreds of dollars of support every month. The Canada Child Benefit is a commendable effort to alleviate child poverty and has indeed made a significant impact by lifting approximately 250,000 children out of poverty. Nevertheless, the recent increase in child poverty rates underscores the fragility of the progress that has been made, and the need for more robust, sustained efforts is clearly there.

This is an example of an area where we have not gone far enough. We have the potential to eradicate child poverty as a policy, and yet over 1 million children in Canada continue to live in poverty today. What are our goals, and how are we measuring our progress? Lifting a quarter of a million children out of poverty is noticeable, but is that enough? A strategy would help us answer these questions and set a better path for moving ahead.

Child care is another area where we have made significant progress with the recent Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreements. However, the program faces challenges in its early stages. Infrastructure and support for child care workers remain areas of concern. Two weeks ago, I travelled across Ontario, met with a number of child care operators, and I have heard from operators that the program does not currently provide enough money to pay staff well or to maintain operations at the same level of quality as they had known before.

Colleagues, aiming for affordability is a good first step, but cost reductions cannot be the only goal in our effort. We need a strategic approach centred on the well-being of children that uses early learning as one of the many tools and programs that will enable our kids and youth to reach their full potential.

Jordan’s Principle and the Inuit Child First Initiative are important programs addressing the unique needs of First Nations and Inuit children but face implementation challenges. Jordan’s Principle is a child-first principle that ensures timely access to products, services and supports for all First Nations children in Canada, on- and off-reserve. Funding can help with a wide range of health, social and educational needs. Similarly, the Inuit Child First Initiative ensures that all Inuit children in Canada have access, in a timely manner, to the essential government-funded health, social and educational products, services and supports that they need. These are some of the good things.

However, delays in processing requests, as seen with Jordan’s Principle, and stalled applications in the Inuit Child First Initiative reveal systemic issues that make timely access to these services difficult. There have also been concerns that the government is applying Jordan’s Principle too narrowly. The recent $23-billion settlement for chronic underfunding of on-reserve child welfare services makes it clear that we still have work to do to adequately support Indigenous children in Canada.

Make no mistake; these programs are good and do important work, but without a plan, without knowing concretely what outcomes we want and without data to measure our progress, we are destined to fail.

These programs help our children some of the time. Designed in silos, they don’t work together holistically to support children’s well-being. More significantly, there are no clear goals for how these programs will support children or enough resources to meet the need right now. The result is that we leave many children to fall through the cracks of this unsuccessful patchwork of programs.

There are many more issues and programs I could highlight. What I hope is clear to you is that the challenges facing our children and youth are both varied and complex, and many are intertwined, interlinked and connected. It would be a mistake to treat these issues as individual, siloed challenges. Simple one-off interventions, therefore, will not suffice. From health care to poverty to safety and more, the issues facing youth are interconnected and require a systematic approach and coordination between different levels of government and civil society.

Colleagues, it is clear to me that we are failing our children because we are applying band-aids to counter the issues of the day rather than more fulsome and interconnected solutions that set kids on the path to a better future. I know that we can do better. It starts with developing a comprehensive plan that identifies where we need to improve and outlines that road map to better outcomes.

In fact, this is not an entirely new idea in the Canadian context. Under the leadership of the Honourable Landon Pearson, in 2004, A Canada Fit for Children was a plan that set out the outcomes we want for our children and the steps we needed to take. A collaborative effort, the plan was intended for everyone involved with caring for children and youth. Crucially, it was developed with input from many Canadians, including children and youth, and identified ways to promote and to protect children’s rights.

We must build on this and other important work done by Canadians to create a country fit for our children. We must end the patchwork of good intentions and unmet targets. We must provide a path forward for our children, their families and their caregivers. We need a strategic plan with detailed objectives, clearly defined indicators that speak to progress, that help us rationalize what we’re doing and how we’re doing it, and specific actions we must take to achieve them.

We need thoughtful, meaningful policies that not only end harm but support our children’s well-being to the fullest. This is why this bill is so important. There is a need for transformative change. There is a need for us to think more clearly about what we want for our children. We just need to do the work.

You may have seen my recent report on the creation of a national strategy, entitled From Vision to Reality. If you haven’t, I encourage you to read it. This collaborative report was the result of a series of round tables and engagements with young people and stakeholders across Canada. These discussions served to confirm the need for a national strategy and to shape what the strategy might look like. This report and the stakeholders it represents have shaped Bill S-282. For that reason, I’d like to present the details of the bill through the lens of this report.

We heard from all the participants that Canada needs a national strategy. They said Canada’s current government infrastructure for children and youth is failing young Canadians and that federal budgets fail to adequately focus on children and youth. Instead, the focus is on programs geared to serving the public in general, and their impact on children is more often than not an afterthought. They made clear that a lack of comprehensive strategy creates this patchwork system of support, requiring provinces to create disjointed policies to try to fill the gaps. This patchwork is currently leaving many children behind, including the most vulnerable children, whom we should all be taking care of.

But what should a strategy include? While the government would need to do a comprehensive, countrywide consultation, our round table participants had several guidelines to share. They were clear that the strategy needs to take a rights-based approach, led by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. They called for an intersectional strategy that adopts the principle of “no child left behind” and advances substantive equality. Importantly, they made clear that the strategy should include an aim to increase awareness among children and youth of their rights, and to help develop their confidence as active citizens. Overall, they called for a broad roadmap toward the respect of children’s rights and the implementation of policies that ensure their health and well-being.

Clause 4(2)(a) of the bill, which outlines mandatory guidelines, reflects many of these comments. It notes that the objectives of the strategy must include a high and consistent standard of living for children and youth across Canada and the complete elimination of child poverty.

Highlighting the importance of our international commitments and the need to take a rights-based approach, it also calls for the government objectives to include full compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the optional protocols which we have signed on to, as well as the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, or UNDRIP, relating to children and youth.

I think we all agree, colleagues, on the importance of these measures.

Another area of consensus was the need for clear targets and outcomes. As one participant put it:

. . . any strategy developed for the implementation of children’s rights must go beyond statements of policy and principle, to set real and achievable targets in relation to the full range of economic, social and cultural, and civic and political rights for all children.

These should include specific, measurable and ambitious outcomes for children and youth. They also noted the strategy should collect and analyze data to ensure accountability, with emphasis on the need for disaggregated data. There should be a plan to share this data alongside information on the progress of the strategy.

These comments influenced the remainder of clause 4(2), and calls for the government to identify a series of outcomes and quantifiable indicators aligned with internationally accepted standards that would, if met, demonstrate the Government of Canada’s objectives have been met; provide an evidence-based assessment of whether these objectives have been met; outline a detailed plan to address unmet objectives, including a description of immediate actions and possible preventive measures; and identify what resources would be required to implement the strategy.

The bill also calls on the government to propose oversight and accountability mechanisms, including public monitoring of the strategy’s implementation; continued consultation with a wide range of stakeholders on the implementation of the strategy; the ability to update the strategy to address emerging needs; the consideration of complaints from children and youth about how this strategy is being implemented; and, finally, parliamentary oversight over the implementation.

When asked who should be involved in the development of the strategy, one round table participant said:

Young people have a difficult time getting authority figures to listen to them, respect their perspectives, and really consider their lived experiences.

Children and youth often face an uphill battle to be heard on the issues that affect them. It is clear that the development process for a national strategy should focus on including the voices of young Canadians of all backgrounds.

This is reflected in clause 4(3) of the bill, which lists children and youth first in the list of those to be consulted on the strategy.

They were clear that the consultation process should include representation from all the provinces, territories, municipal governments, academic institutions and civil society. The consensus from the round tables is that unilateral action by the federal government would be completely insufficient. Buy-in and participation by the provinces will be important in the creation and operation of a national strategy. A truly national strategy should include a coordinating mechanism between levels of government.

That is why clause 4(3) also notes that the minister responsible for the strategy must consult with representatives of provincial and municipal governments, as well as representatives of Indigenous governing bodies and organizations that serve and represent First Nations, Inuit and Métis children and youth. It also calls for the inclusion of relevant stakeholders, including representatives from organizations that serve and advocate for children and youth.

In this process, the government must deliberately seek out the voices that reflect the diversity of all children and youth in Canada and their experiences, and build a process that recognizes and addresses the challenges in obtaining input from all communities. This list outlining who must be consulted is not meant to be an exhaustive one, and the bill invites the minister to consult with whomever else they deem appropriate.

Accountability was a major area of concern highlighted in the round tables. Regarding the need for public reporting, we heard:

The strategy and reporting can be disseminated to all levels, but particularly the public, because the public tool is really handy to keep things accountable.

To address these concerns, the bill lays out several accountability measures. First, it requires that within six months of Royal Assent, and every six months after that until the national strategy is tabled, the minister must table a progress report in each house of Parliament setting out the progress of the development of the strategy and a list of those who have been consulted, as long as they consent to sharing their participation. This will give the public insight into the progress of the strategy’s development, and give young people, stakeholders and other parties time to join the consultations before they end, if they feel that certain vital viewpoints have been missed.

The bill gives the government two years after Royal Assent to develop the national strategy for children and youth, with a report outlining the strategy to be tabled in both houses of Parliament by that date. It must also be published on a government website within 10 days of tabling.

Multiple participants called for regular review periods of the strategy so that it stays relevant as the challenges facing children and youth evolve. That is why the bill calls for a review every five years in the form of a report outlining the extent to which the national strategy for children and youth has been implemented and an assessment of whether the strategy’s objectives have been met or changed, as well as any other relevant conclusions or recommendations about the strategy.

In conclusion, colleagues, I will be blunt: Canada needs this. Canada’s children need this. They need to see an end to the patchwork of half measures that characterize our approach to our children. They need leaders to speak with and listen to children, parents, teachers, caregivers, civil society and advocates in order to make sure that no one is left behind.

Children need us to say “no more” to child poverty and poor access to health care. They need us to protect them online and offline, and from the harms brought by climate change. They need us to protect and defend their rights.

They need a vision for a future where every child can flourish, and for us to be willing to put in the work to do this. Canada’s children and youth need us to step up.

One of the unsaid premises of this bill is that, despite the history and the challenges we have faced as a country in delivering for our children, I believe that parliamentarians from every side care about our children — that we want to build a country fit for our children, and that we are collectively ready to set this up. That’s why I urge you to support Bill S-282.

I look forward to hearing other colleagues debate this bill, and sending it to committee for further study.

Thank you. Meegwetch.

Some Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

Hon. Rosemary Moodie introduced Bill S-282, An Act respecting a national strategy for children and youth in Canada.

(Bill read first time.)

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, when shall this bill be read the second time?

(On motion of Senator Moodie, bill placed on the Orders of the Day for second reading two days hence.)

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