Research finds kids are not OK, gives way to calls to action

The adoption of a Canadian Children’s Charter, and the implementation of a federal children’s budget, are among some of the calls to action presented by youth delegates at the Raising Canada Summit. The summit, held in Calgary earlier this month, saw youth and business leaders explore the recent findings of a report into the state of children in Canada developed by the Cumming School of Medicine’s (CSM) O’Brien Institute for Public Health.

“The Raising Canada report is rather sobering on many levels, but it is also encouraging to see an organization like Children First that is so committed to trying to take this information to catalyze positive change,” says O’Brien Institute scientific director Dr. William Ghali, MD.

The summit was hosted by Children’s First Canada, which aims to build awareness and engage with public policies to improve the life of Canadian children, and transformed the troubling report findings to three calls to action aimed at improving the well-being of all children.

The calls to action ask for the establishment of a national commission for children and youth; for the allocation of national funds to create a children’s budget; and for the implementation of the articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the implementation of the Canadian Children’s Charter.

The calls to action were presented after dozens of Alberta youth explored the report — titled Raising Canada: A report on children in Canada, their health and wellbeing. The paper reveals high rates of mortality, poverty, obesity and suicide among Canadian children.

“Sadly, I’m not too surprised by some of these findings. What is troubling is that we are not talking about it,” says Jenn Lofgren, founder of Incito Consulting and panel member at the summit.

Infant mortality rates, obesity and mental health concerns among Canadian children are high compared to other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, while vaccination and food security rates are comparatively low, according to the Raising Canada paper.

The summit hosted morning workshops where youth delegates were able to dive deeper into issues presented through the report. At the luncheon, delegates presented their findings, insights and context to community and business leaders, and led roundtable discussions around the status of Canadian children.

“The kids found creative ways to talk about the really difficult issues and engage the adults in an authentic and meaningful conversation. And in turn the adults who are used to being in the driver’s seat and in control of a room sat back and listened and were both inspired and challenged by what they heard,” recounts Sara Austin, founder and lead director of Children First Canada, and CEO of the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre.

Dr. Amy Metcalfe, PhD, assistant professor at the CSM and the paper’s lead investigator, says the summit “is an important first step towards making children's health and well-being a priority area for Canadians. By working together we can help change the statistics and change the narrative so that Canadian children can eventually have some of the best health outcomes internationally.”

The youth delegates called on those in the room, as well as child advocates and policy-makers, to work together to create environments where all children can thrive. Information on how to get involved is available here.

William Ghali is a professor in the departments of medicine and community health sciences and scientific director of the O’Brien Institute for Public Health, and a member of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta at the Cumming School of Medicine.

Amy Metcalfe is assistant professor, departments of obstetrics and gynecology, medicine and community health sciences, member of Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, O’Brien Institute for Public Health and the Libin Cardiovascular Research Institute at the Cumming School of Medicine.