Committee on the Rights of the Child

Sixty – first session

17 September – 5 October 2012

Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

List of issues concerning additional and updated information related to the combined third and fourth periodic reports of Canada (CRC/C/CAN/3-4)

The State party is requested to submit in writing additional, updated information, if possible before 2 July 2012.

The Committee may take up all aspects of children’s rights contained in the Convention during the dialogue with the State party.

Part I

In this section, the State party is requested to submit its responses to the following questions (30 pages maximum).

1.Please inform the Committee on the measures taken by the State party, if any, regarding the withdrawal of reservations to articles 21 and 37(c) as recommended by the Committee in its previous concluding observations (CRC/C/15/Add.215, para. 7).

2.Please inform the Committee on measures taken to incorporate the Convention on the Rights of the Child into national law and how it is reflected in the legal framework in its different levels, federal, provincial or territorial.

3.Please provide information on the implementation of Canada’s 2004 National Plan of Action for Children (CNPA), particularly with regard to the achievement of goals and objectives and impact by goal, sector and age group and percentage of budget allocated, at federal, provincial and territorial levels. Please also provide information on the current action plan for the implementation of children’s rights, its priorities, goals and targets, timetable and budget allocated, and if it takes the previous Committee’s concluding observations into consideration (CRC/C/15/Add.215, para. 13).

4.Please inform the Committee whether due consideration is being given to the establishment of a national coordination mechanism, in particular between the federal, provincial and territorial authorities, for the implementation of policies, as mentioned in the Committee’s previous concluding observations (CRC/C/15/Add.215, para. 11).

5.Please inform the Committee on whether the State party has a unified system for data collection and analysis with a child-rights focus, covering all groups of children, with disaggregated data by age, sex, provinces/territories, socio-economic background and ethnic origin.

6.Please provide information on the main issues raised by the 2006 Aboriginal Children’s Survey and their follow-up in policy and programme terms, both at national, provincial and territorial levels. In this respect, please inform the Committee whether plans are underway to improve statistics in order to ensure that Aboriginal people are represented appropriately.

7.Please provide information regarding the establishment of a federal ombudsman’s office responsible for children’s rights, in conformity with the Paris Principles, that coordinates with the ombudsmen at provincial and territorial levels, as suggested in the Committee’s previous concluding observations (CRC/C/15/Add.215, para. 15).

8.Please provide detailed information and data, based on research or analysis, regarding respect for the views of the child, especially in judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child, as established in article 12 of the Convention.

9.Please provide information on the actual impact in poverty reduction, disaggregated by sex, age, minority and ethnic origin, of the various child and family benefits introduced since 2005 (Child Disability Benefit, the Universal Child Care Benefit, the Registered Disabilities Service Plans, the Child Tax Credit and the Working Income Tax Benefit), at national, provincial and territorial levels.

10.Please provide more information on the efforts in fighting the gaps between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children in the fulfilment of their rights to health and education. On health, please provide information on the impact on aboriginal children and youth of investment in the Maternal Child Health Program, the first Nations and Inuit Health Programs, the National Aboriginal Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy, the National Anti-Drug Strategy, the National Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program and Youth Solvent Abuse program, among others mentioned in the State party’s report. On education, please provide information on the impact on aboriginal children and youth of the initiatives to support culturally relevant elementary, secondary and post-secondary education for First Nations and Inuit students, the Aboriginal Head Start Program and the 2008 Road Map for Linguistic Duality.

11.Please provide information on specific measures taken to reduce inequities affecting children belonging to minorities and other groups of children in vulnerable situations, such as Roma children, Afro-Canadians, refugee and migrant children, at national, provincial and territorial levels.

12.Please inform whether there has been progress in ensuring that all provinces and territories have adapted their adoption legislation to the 1993 Hague Convention on the protection of children and co-operation in respect of intercountry adoption.

13.Please inform the Committee whether application of the Youth Criminal Justice Act is uniform in all provinces and territories and whether there are protection gaps especially regarding adult sentences for children 14 to 15 years of age. Please also inform the Committee on the current status of Bill C-10, the Omnibus Crime Bill, intended to amend the Youth Criminal Justice Act, as well as provide information on how this draft is consistent with the State party’s international obligations under the Convention.

14.Please inform the Committee on the current status of Bill C-4, on Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada’s Immigration System Act, as well as provide information on how this draft is consistent with the State party’s international obligations under the Convention.

15.Please provide information on progress in implementing this Committee’s recommendations in its previous concluding observations regarding the implementation of the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, especially regarding extraterritorial jurisdiction and age of voluntary recruitment. Please also provide updated information regarding the case of Omar Khadr.

Part II

In this section the Committee invites the State party to provide a brief update (no more than three pages in length) on the information presented in its report regarding:

(a)New bills or enacted legislation and any accompanying regulations;

(b)New institutions, their mandates and funding;

(c)Newly adopted and implemented policies and programmes and their scope;

(d)Newly ratified human rights instruments.

Part III

Data, statistics and other information, if available

1.Please provide consolidated budget information for the last five years on budget lines regarding children and social sectors, by indicating the percentage of each budget line in terms of the total national budget and GNP.

2.Please provide data (disaggregated by age, sex, socio-economic background and ethnic group) regarding the situation of children deprived of a family environment and separated from their parents, for the last three years on the number of children:

(a)Separated from their parents;

(b)Placed in institutions;

(c)Placed with foster families;

(d)Adopted domestically or through intercountry adoptions.

3.Please specify the number of children with disabilities, up to the age of 18, disaggregated by age, sex and ethnic group, for the last three years, regarding children:

(a)Living with their families;

(b)In institutions;

(c)Attending regular schools;

(d)Attending special schools.

4.Please provide disaggregated data (including by age, sex and ethnic group, urban/rural areas) for the last three years on:

(a)The enrolment and completion rates in percentages of the relevant group in pre-primary schools, in primary schools and in secondary schools;

(b)Number and percentage of dropouts and repetitions;

(c)Teacher-pupil ratio.

5.Please provide disaggregated statistical data (including by age, sex and ethnic group; including aboriginal children and those living in reserves, and region) on adolescent health, including early pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), mental health, suicide, drug, alcohol and tobacco consumption and abuse, as well as rates of infant and child mortality and of malnutrition for the last three years.

6.Please provide disaggregated statistical data (including by age, sex and ethnic group) on children infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, as well as information on programmes implemented to address the problems of these children.

7.Please provide appropriate disaggregated data (including by age, sex, ethnic group and type of crime) for the last three years, in particular on the number of:

(a)Children who have allegedly committed a crime, reported to the police;

(b)Children who have been sentenced and type of punishment or sanctions related to offences including length of deprivation of liberty;

(c)Number of children charged under the criminal code;

(d)Detention facilities for juvenile delinquents and their capacity;

(e)Children detained in these facilities and children detained in adult facilities;

(f)Children kept in pretrial detention and the average length of their detention;

(g)Reported cases of abuse and maltreatment of children which occurred during their arrest and detention.

8.Please provide data on social protection measures, disaggregated by age, sex, socio-economic background and ethnic group, and urban/rural areas), for the last three years, on:

(a)The number of children involved in sexual exploitation, including prostitution, pornography and trafficking;

(b)The number of children involved in sexual exploitation who received rehabilitation treatment;

(c)The number of children involved in child labour who are under 16;

(d)The number of children in street situations.

9.In addition, the State party may list areas affecting children that it considers to be of priority with regard to the implementation of the Convention.