Honourable senators, we often hear that Canada is one of the best countries in the world. An Ipsos poll from 2019 found that 71% of Canadians believe that we rank 10th among wealthy countries for children’s well-being.

However, is that really the case? It is definitely not, according to UNICEF’s rankings. Of 41 European Union and OECD countries, Canada actually ranks 25th when it comes to the well-being of children.

According to Statistics Canada, one-third of children in Canada are obese or overweight. Only 13% of boys and 6% of girls get the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity per day. These facts about our young people are troubling.

What is worse, the 2019 report entitled Raising Canada: A call to Action indicates, and I quote:

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for children, ranking us in the top five countries in the world when it comes to youth suicide — not something to be proud of. One third of Canadians have experienced some form of child abuse before the age of 16. Research shows that 12% of Canadian kids grow up in poverty, including 50% of Indigenous children.

Clearly, our children are not as safe and healthy as we would like to believe.

I would first like to applaud the work of Children First Canada, the Observatoire des tout-petits and other organizations that advocate for our children’s well-being and work tirelessly to raise our awareness of this issue.

If we are to find solutions, first we must all recognize that there is a problem. Like Senator Pearson and Senator Andreychuk, I sincerely believe that the Senate has a role to play in protecting our children, a role that I invite us all to play.

Let me leave you with these words from 12-year-old Roman Wolfli from Calgary:

People like to say that ‘children are our future,’ but we are also the present. We are Canadian citizens. If we could vote, perhaps the issues we face would be a greater focus. Listen to our voices and take action to support children. We are citizens of this country, present and future, disempowered, but as important as any adult. Eighteen is just a number.