This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. As we celebrate progress and confront gaps in the realization of the rights of all children, UNICEF Canada marks the anniversary with this Canadian supplement to the annual UNICEF The State of the World’s Children report 2009.
The Issue – at a glance
Aboriginal children are among the most marginalized children in Canadian society. Despite some advances, in almost any measure of health and well-being, Aboriginal children – including First Nations, Inuit and Métis -- are at least two or three times worse off than other Canadian children. As children, they are less likely to see a doctor. As teens, they are more likely to become pregnant. And in many communities, they are more likely to commit suicide.
This disparity is the greatest children's rights challenge facing our nation.
Health depends on a web of economic, social, political and environmental factors. These are some of the factors affecting the health of Canada’s Aboriginal children:
- Poverty
- Lack of education
- Substandard housing
- Poor nutrition
- Lack of access to health care and other social services
- A legacy of family, community and cultural breakdown left by residential school policies
The Consequences – a glimpse
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1 in 4 First Nations children lives in poverty compared to 1 in 9 Canadian children on average.
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In cities of more than 100,000 people, approximately 50 per cent of Aboriginal children under the age of 15 live in low-income housing, compared to 21 per cent of non-Aboriginal children.
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In contrast to the national infant mortality rate of 5 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, the rate is 8 per 1, 000 among First Nations and 16 per 1,000 in Nunavut (where 85 per cent of the population is Inuit).
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Only 63 per cent of First Nations children on selected reserves accessed a doctor in 2001; 46 per cent of Inuit children and 77 per cent Métis children did so, compared to 85 per cent of Canadian children on average.
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Between 33 and 45 per cent of Inuit, Métis and First Nations children (on and off reserve) report chronic illness.
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On-reserve First Nations child immunization rates are 20 per cent lower than in the general population, leading to higher rates of vaccine-preventable diseases.
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38: The percentage of deaths attributable to suicide for First Nations youth aged 10 to 19. In 1999, the suicide rate among First Nations was 2.1 times higher than the overall Canadian rate. The rate of suicide for Inuit is 11 times higher than the overall rate of the Canadian population.
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First Nations teenage fertility is seven times higher than the national average. For First Nations teenage girls under age 15, the fertility rate is 18 times higher than that of other Canadians. Nunavut has the highest teen pregnancy rate in Canada, at 161.3 children per 1,000 women.
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Birth weight for First Nations babies is increasing. Twenty-one per cent of First Nations babies are born with high birth weight compared with 13.1 per cent of high birth weight in the general population, leading to health risks.
The Solution-a snap shot
The solution lies in ensuring our policies, funding and service delivery models promote equal access to the rights inherent to all children in this country. We need:
- More culturally appropriate community-based health services to ensure that Aboriginal families do not have to move far from home to find the services they need – services that other children routinely access.
- Improved coordination between federal, provincial and Aboriginal governance systems for health care funding and delivery. No Aboriginal child should be denied services others enjoy because of a dispute about which order of government is responsible to provide or pay for it.
- To commit to funding the same level of services for Aboriginal children as we do for other Canadian children.
Why we should care
In 2009, twenty years after the Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted with the promise of providing the best we have to give as a nation for all our children, the health conditions of Canada’s Aboriginal children are not what we would expect in one of the most affluent countries in the world. It is time to do more to ensure that Aboriginal children have the same services and chances for fulfilling lives as other Canadians. We should care because:
- In Canada, under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, we have agreed that it is every child’s right – without discrimination – to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health.
- As a country, we are only as strong as our most vulnerable citizens – our children. Each of them has the right to and deserves the very best we can give. Families and communities need to be supported to raise children who will develop to their fullest potential – potential that will define our success as a nation.
- Aboriginal children are the fastest growing segment of the Canadian population. They represent about one-third of the entire Aboriginal population, far higher than the 19 per cent of children in the non-Aboriginal population. They have the potential to make a significant impact on our education system and labour force. Their destiny is Canada’s destiny.
What you can do today
Every Canadian child should have access to the critical health care and protection services their governments provide. These should never be denied or delayed when different levels of government don’t agree on which is responsible to provide them.
Jurisdictional disputes involving First Nations children are common, affecting hundreds of children every year. All children have equal rights to survive, develop to their potential, and have their best interests prioritized. Jordan’s Principle, passed unanimously in the House of Commons on December 12, 2007, is a child-first principle to resolve inter-governmental disputes affecting the lives of First Nations children. It asks governments as a matter of policy to provide First Nations children with the services they are entitled to - and later resolve which jurisdiction will bear the cost if there is a dispute. Jordan’s Principle has been adopted by all provinces in principle, but needs an effective implementation plan.
Register your individual or organizational support for Jordan's Principle now!
Contact your elected federal and provincial representatives to register your concern about the inequities that Canada’s Aboriginal children face. Please download and send the suggested letter asking them to put legislation in place to enact Jordan’s Principle, work to ensure a seamless delivery of health services for Aboriginal children, and make the Health Canada Non-Insured Health Benefits Program accessible for Métis children.
Support the Many Hands, One Dream principles to guide improvements to Aboriginal health care resulting in healthier Aboriginal children and young people.
Learn about the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and speak with others (friends, family, children and young people, your government representatives) about children’s rights and how important they are to all children in Canada.