Podcast: On the Rights of the Child in Canada

Landon Pearson directs a resource centre on children’s rights and childhood set up in her name at Carleton University.

In December, the UN General Assembly adopted a new optional protocol to the UN Convention on the rights of the child. The treaty is being heralded as a big step for children’s rights because it would give children the option to launch complaints at an international level. It’s an option adults already have under several treaties. But, the new optional protocol only comes into force if a country chooses to ratify it.

Canadian children’s advocates say they’re not getting their hopes up; children’s rights policy just isn’t a priority for this government.

This week’s podcast explores what the new optional protocol is, what it could mean for Canadian children, and Canada’s status as a leader on children’s rights.

Podcast Guests

Sara Austin is director of the President's Office at World Vision Canada and has held several other positions with the organization at the national and international level. She researched the possibility of a complaints mechanism for the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child for her master’s degree at the University of Oxford. After receiving her degree in 2005, she decided to put her research into practice and organized a coalition of more than 80 international NGOs to push the UN to create such a mechanism. She is co-chair of the coalition and lives and works in Toronto.

The Honourable Landon Pearson is a former senator and longtime children’s rights advocate. Prior to her appointment to the Senate of Canada in 1994, Pearson had extensive experience as a volunteer and leader of several Canadian children’s organizations including the Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children. After retiring from the Senate, she continued her work on children’s rights and childhood. In 2005, Pearson was one among 1,000 women from around the world nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work on behalf of children, and in 2008 she was named an Officer of the Order of Canada.