Say It Isn't So...

Well, obviously wishing it were not so will accomplish exactly nothing. Yet it is so difficult to wind one's mine around the fact that in a country as wealthy as Canada, with all its opportunities, its generous social programmes - obviously never generous enough - and its undoubted dedication to the well-being of its heterogeneous population, there are still deep pockets of poverty.

Statistics Canada tells us that we have made strides in the last number of years. That there are fewer elderly Canadians living at or under the poverty line. That there exists far fewer families representing the working poor. That far fewer children live with their families - often single mothers - in a state of poverty. That is comforting to a degree. Yet within this great country there is a need expressed by the fact that most of our cities operate well-used and -needed food banks.

That in the capital city of this country as well as elsewhere we have charitable groups whose function is to aid and to feed the dispossessed, our street people, shiftless migrants and disinherited social outcasts. Other groups whose purpose is seasonal; to provide the wherewithal for children to be given adequate winter clothing in our unforgiving northern climate. And those whose single purpose to provide a once-a-year expression of community support in the form of Christmas-season food baskets, including toys for children.

It's a blight on our sense of well being. Now UNICEF has issued a report condemning this country for failing to adequately support the rights of children. The UNICEF Canada study just released claims that child poverty persists at an inexcusable scale. That mental illness and serious health problems assail Canada's children, most noteworthy those among our Aboriginal populations at a rate double and triple those in the non-Native population.

That there is a stark over-representation within the penal system of First Nations peoples and ethnic minorities. "Compared with other industrialized countries, our children are suffering from unacceptable rates of poverty, obesity, mental illness and violence that have persisted or increased since Canada ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991", according to Nigel Fisher, UNICEF Canada president and CEO.

The report states that while Canada has made gains in some areas, and has implemented many promising initiatives - life expectancy having increased and infant mortality rates declined - other issues still remain to be addressed. Infant mortality rates among First Nations is almost double that of the rest of the population. It points out the limited opportunities for disabled children to successfully participate in education, community life, and future employment.

There is much unevenness among the provinces; the political will to institute meaningful changes to satisfy the urgent needs of our children has not yet been fully engaged. The study recommends the opportunity for the establishment of a children's commissioner to help ensure that children's rights are being protected. The question is why are we so tardy in recognizing these needs? Our children are most precious resources.

They deserve no less than that we demand the very best of present living conditions, of future opportunies.