SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — National Child Day
November 20, 2025
Honourable senators, I rise again this year to highlight the celebration of National Child Day in Canada. National Child Day is a celebration of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was adopted by the UN on November 20, 1989, and signed by Canada. I want to re‑emphasize Canada’s commitment to upholding children’s rights.
UNICEF Canada’s Report Card 19 was published this year, and this report looks at the pillars of child and youth well-being in wealthy countries. Despite being among the 10 wealthiest countries, Canada ranks only nineteenth among 36 nations when it comes to child well-being, as indicated by UNICEF. One in six children in Canada, or more than 1.3 million young people, are still growing up in poverty, according to Campaign 2000’s 2024 report. In terms of mental health, Canada ranks thirteenth in life satisfaction, with children’s reported happiness declining since 2018. Despite improvement in the adolescent suicide rate, we rank thirty-third out of 42 countries. The findings of this report highlight the pressing need for ambitious action to address the state of children’s well-being.
As a country, our efforts to improve the health and well-being of our children and youth are siloed between provinces, territories, civil society and the federal government. Canada lacks a clear, unified vision for how we ensure better outcomes for our children and youth. We need a national strategy. A strategy like this would give the Government of Canada its mandate to ensure systematic consultation and engagement with children and youth as they plan for their future.
We have a responsibility to Canadian children to set clear targets and indicators to create the best possible outcomes for them. This year’s theme for National Child Day is “Our Rights, Our Future,” highlighting the importance of supporting and empowering children to reach their full potential and be change makers.
Dear colleagues, National Child Day is a great opportunity for us to reflect on the current state of children and youth well-being and on our commitment to advocate and promote their rights. We must make children and youth well-being our highest priority and work towards ambitious policy-making. Thank you. Meegwetch.
Thank you for giving me a last-minute opportunity to speak about World Children’s Day.
Yesterday, I welcomed representatives from World Vision and Save the Children to the Senate to talk to us about another aspect of this international day: the plight of children in times of war.
I was there with Senator Ataullahjan, who spoke to us about the plight of children in Rohingya camps, along with Senator Al Zaibak and Senator Coyle.
The numbers are alarming. According to the United Nations, in 2024, a record number of children were subjected to violence in conflict zones. Twenty-two thousand, five hundred children were killed, injured, denied humanitarian aid, or recruited to participate in conflict. Those who survive are traumatized by their suffering and loss.
Violence has increased against children in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and Nigeria, but also in Gaza and, more recently, in Sudan, where there have been reports of massacres of civilians, pregnant women, and children. In Haiti, too, sexual violence against children is on the rise amid the chaos. It is as serious as guns and bombs.
The conflict in Sudan is one of those forgotten and virtually invisible conflicts where children are being targeted. Around El Fasher, massacres are on the rise, but the world has not reacted with horror because the warring parties have adopted a radical tactic: They refuse to let journalists in, so there is no media coverage, no images and no awareness.
Children in Sudan are dying, either from hunger or from gunfire. Radio-Canada journalist Sophie Langlois went to the refugee camps on the border. She observed that children there are still going hungry because humanitarian organizations don’t have enough provisions to fill their bellies. Worse still, mothers would rather see their emaciated children die from a bullet than from hunger. Starvation is a slow and terrible way to die, as the body’s vital systems shut down one by one.
Our mission should be to protect children in times of war. In fact, our mission should be to protect all children so they have a chance to experience wonder, to learn and to enjoy their childhood, not live a life of fear and hunger.
Thank you.
