1. While the Government of Quebec supports the general principles of the ECD Agreement, it did not participate in developing this initiative because it intends to preserve its sole responsibility on social matters. However, Quebec receives its share of federal funding and the Government of Quebec is making major investments toward programs and services for families and children.
  2. M. McCain and F. Mustard, Early Years Study (Toronto: Government of Ontario, 1999).
  3. Acknowledgement for the development of this chapter is extended to Kate Davies.
  4. Particulate matter comprises solid, liquid, or mixed particles suspended in air with variable size, composition and origins. D. Wigle, Child Health and the Environment (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003).
  5. D. Wigle, Child Health and the Environment (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003).
  6. World Health Organization Working Group on Infant Growth, 1994. An Evaluation of Infant Growth. Nutrition Unit, (WHO), Geneva.
  7. G. W. Chance and E. Harmsen, "Children are Different: Environmental Contaminants and Children's Health," Canadian Journal of Public Health 89, 1 (1998): S9-13.
  8. D. Wigle, Child Health and the Environment (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003).
  9. PCBs have a wide variety of industrial uses including as sealants, lubricants and electrical equipment. They have been linked to neurodevelopmental delay in children exposed in utero.
  10. J. W. Hanson, A. P. Streissguthand, D. W. Smith, "The Effects of Moderate Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy on Fetal Growth and Morphogenesis," Journal of Pediatrics 92 (1978): 457–460.
  11. See section on neurodevelopmental effects.
  12. D. Wigle, Child Health and the Environment (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003).
  13. N. Chaudhuri, "Child Health, Poverty and the Environment: The Canadian Context," Canadian Journal of Public Health 89, Suppl. 1 (1998): 26–30.
  14. W. J. Gauderman, G. F. Gilliland, et al., "Association Between Air Pollution and Lung Function Growth in Southern California Children: Results From a Second Cohort," Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 166, 1 (July 1, 2002): 76–84.
  15. Based on information in US Environmental Protection Agency, America's Children and the Environment: Measures of Contaminants, Body Burdens, and Illness, Second Edition, 2003.
  16. WHO UN Children's Fund 2000 Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment.
  17. Health Canada, Health and Environment: Partners for Life, Catalogue Number h39-112/1997E, 1997.
  18. Ibid.
  19. An enteric disease is an infection in the intestinal tract. The most common symptom is diarrhea.
  20. Statistical Report on the Health of Canadians, Federal, Provincial, Territorial, Advisory Committee on Population Health, 1999.
  21. E. Coli O157 is the most toxic form of E. Coli infection.
  22. Statistical Report on the Health of Canadians, Federal, Provincial, Territorial, Advisory Committee on Population Health, 1999.
  23. US National Research Council, Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children (National Academy Press: Washington DC, 1993).
  24. Health Canada, Health and Environment: Partners for Life, Catalogue Number h39-112/1997E, 1997.
  25. Ibid.
  26. J. Van Oostdam, S. Donaldson, M. Feeley and N. Tremblay, Canadian Arctic Contaminants Assessment Report II: Human Health, Northern Contaminants Program, 2003.
  27. Human Resources Development Canada/Statistics Canada, National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, Cycle 3 (1998–1999).
  28. Health Canada, Health and Environment: Partners for Life, Catalogue Number h39-112/1997E, 1997.
  29. Ibid.
  30. P. E. Rasmussen, Subramanian, and B. J. Jessiman, "A Multi-Element Profile of Household Dust in Relation to Exterior Dust and Soils in the City of Ottawa, Canada," Science of the Total Environment 267 (2001): 125-140.
  31. D. Wigle, Child Health and the Environment (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003).
  32. Ibid.
  33. Adapted from J. M. Samet and J. D. Spengler, Indoor Air Pollution – A Health Perspective (Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 1991). Cited in M. Raizenne, R. Dales and R. Burnett, "Air Pollution Exposures and Children's Health," Canadian Journal of Public Health 89, Suppl. 1 (1998): S43-48.
  34. Aligne and Stoddard, 1997 as cited in: D. Wigle, Child Health and the Environment (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003).
  35. Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey, 2001. Health Canada. Available at: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/tobacco/research/ctums/2001/2001ets.html
  36. The Air Children Breathe: The Effects on their Health, 5. The Air Children Breathe – Indoors, Presentation by David Miller.
  37. D. Wigle, Child Health and the Environment (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003).
  38. Ibid.
  39. J. R. Davis, R. C. Brownson, and R. Garcia, "Family Pesticide Use in the Home, Garden, Orchard and Yard," Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 22 (1992): 260-266.
  40. D. Wigle, Child Health and the Environment (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003).
  41. T. E. Arbuckle et al., Epidemiology: In Press.
  42. http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/protection/warnings/1998/98_85e.htm
  43. Capital Health, Risk Evaluation of Arsenic Exposure in Playgrounds (July 22, 2003).
  44.   http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/pmra-arla/english/pdf/fact/fs_cca-june2003-e.pdf
  45. J. B. Manchester-Neesvig, K. Valters, and W. C. Sonzogni, "Comparison of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in Lake Michigan Salmonids," Environmental Science and Technology 35: 1072–1077.
  46. D. Meironyté, Å. Bergman and K. Norén, Organohalogen Compounds Swedish Environmental Protection Agency: Stockholm, Sweden, Vol. 35 (1998).
  47. J. B. Manchester-Neesvig, K. Valters, and W. C. Sonzogni, "Comparison of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in Lake Michigan Salmonids," Environmental Science and Technology 35: 1072–1077.
  48. Landrigan, et al., "Environmental Pollutants and Disease in American Children: Estimates of Morbidity, Mortality, and Costs for Lead Poisoning, Asthma, Cancer, and Developmental Disabilities," Environmental Health Perspectives 110 (2002): 721–728.
  49. US EPA, America's Children and the Environment: Measures of Contaminants, Body Burdens, and Illness, Second Edition (2003).
  50. Human Resources Development Canada/Statistics Canada, National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, Cycle 4 (2000–2001).
  51. Canadian Institute for Health Information. 2001. Respiratory Disease in Canada. Available at: http://secure.cihi.ca/cihiweb/products/RespiratoryComplete.pdf
  52. Ibid.
  53. Statistics Canada, Canadian Vital Statistics – Birth Database.
  54. Human Resources Development Canada/Statistics Canada, National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, Cycle 4 (2000–2001).
  55. D. Wigle, Child Health and the Environment (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003).
  56. J. Van Oostdam, S. Donaldson, M. Feeley, and N. Tremblay, Canadian Arctic Contaminants Assessment Report II: Human Health, Northern Contaminants Program (2003).
  57. Ibid.
  58. B. Weiss and P. J. Landrigan, "The Developing Brain and the Environment: An Introduction," Environmental Health Perspectives 108, 3 (2000): 373–4.
  59. S.T. Wang, S. Pizzolato, H/P. Demshar and L. Smith, "Decline in Blood Lead in Ontario Children Correlated to Decreasing Consumption of Leaded Gasoline, 1983–1992," Clinical Chemistry 43 (1997):1251–1252.
  60. K. S. Crump, T. Kjellstrom, A. M. Shipp, A. Silvers, and A. Stewart, "Influence of Prenatal Mercury Exposure Upon Scholastic and Psychological Test Performance: Benchmark Analysis of a New Zealand Cohort," Risk Analysis 18, 6 (1998): 34–46; G. J. Myers, P. W. Davidson, C. Cox, C. F. Shamlaye, D. Palumbo et al., "Prenatal Methylmercury Exposure from Ocean Fish Consumption in the Seychelles Child Development Study," Lancet 361, 9370 (2003): 1686–92; U. Steuerwald et al., "Maternal Seafood Diet, Methylmercury Exposure, and Neonatal Neurological Function," Journal of Pediatrics 136 (2002): 599–605.
  61. M. Belles Isles, P. Ayotte, E. Dewailly, J. P. Weber, and R. Roy, "Cord Blood Lymphocyte Functions in Newborns From a Remote Maritime Population Exposed to Organochlorines and Methylmercury," Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health 65, 2 (2002): 165–182; G. Muckle, P. Ayotte, E. Dewailly, S. W. Jacobson, and J. L. Jacobson, "Prenatal Exposure of the Northern Quebec Inuit Infants to Environmental Contaminants," Environmental Health Perspectives 109, 12 (2001): 1291–1299.
  62. S. Schantz, J. Widholm, and D. Rice, "Effects of PCB Exposure on Neurophysicolgial Function in Children," Environmental Health Perspectives 111 (2003): 357–376.
  63. IPCC, Climate Change 1995: IPCC Second Assessment Report. Vol. 1. The Science of Climate Change, J. T. Houghton et al., eds., (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996).
  64. A. Haines, A. J. McMichael, and P. Epstein, "Global Climate Change and Health," Chapter 6 in: Life Support: The Environment and Human Health, M. McCally, ed., (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2002).
  65. The Canadian Institute of Child Health has published a report Changing Habits, Changing Climate: A Foundation Analysis to provide background information for a public outreach strategy on climate change.
  66. Acknowledgement for the development of this chapter is extended to Kathleen Guy of Guy Associates and Jane Bertrand of the Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development.
  67. Federal/Provincial/Territorial Council of Ministers on Social Policy Renewal, A National Children's Agenda – Developing A Shared Vision (Canada, 1999).
  68. In the NLSCY, the Person Most Knowledgeable about the Child (PMK), which is typically the mother, provides information for all selected children in the household, as well as the sociodemographic information about herself and her spouse. The latter information is used to describe the socioeconomic situation of the child's family. Only one PMK was selected per household.
  69. H. R. Schaffer, Making Decisions About Children: Psychological Questions and Answers, 2nd edition (Oxford: Blackwell, 1998).
  70. Human Resources Development Canada/Statistics Canada, National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, Cycle 4 (2000–2001).
  71. Y. Racine and M. Boyle, "Family Functioning and Children's Behavior Problems," in Vulnerable Children – Findings from Canada's National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, J. Doug Willms, ed. (Alberta: University of Alberta Press, 2002: 199–209).
  72. E. M. Cummings, "Marital Conflict and Children's Functioning," in Social Development (3, 1994): 16–36.
  73. N. Trocme et al., Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect – Final Report (Ottawa: Health Canada, 2001).
  74. M. Bornstein, L. Davidson, C. Keyes, and K. Moore, Well-Being: Positive Development Across the Life Course, (Mahwah, N.J.: Erlbaum, 2003).
  75. M. Bornstein and R. Bradley, Socioeconomic Status, Parenting and Child Development, (Mahwah, New Jersey: Erlbaum, 2003); R. Tremblay, "When Children's Social Development Fails." Developmental Health and the Wealth of Nation, D. Keating and C. Hertzman eds. (New York: Guilford Press, 1999: 55–71).
  76. D. Baumrind, "Child Care Practices Anteceding 3 Patterns of Preschool Behaviour," in Genetic Psychology Monographs 75 (1967): 43–88.
  77. J. Doug Willms, Vulnerable Children – Findings from Canada's National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (Alberta: University of Alberta Press, 2002).
  78. Ibid.
  79. G. S. Ginsberg and M. Bornstein, "Family Factors Related to Children's Intrinsic/Extrinsic Motivational Orientation and Academic Performance," in Child Development 64 (1993): 1461–1474; R. D. Conger et al., "A Family Process Model of Economic Hardship and Adjustment of Early Adolescent Boys," in Child Development 63 (1992): 526–541.
  80. NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, "Child Care and Mother-Child Interaction in the First Three Years of Life" in Developmental Psychology 35, 96 (1999): 1399–1413; NICHD Early Child Care Research Network , "The Relation of Child Care to Cognitive and Language Development," Child Development 71, 4 (2000): 960–980; NICHD Research Network, "Early Child Care and Children's Development Prior to School Entry," Research Symposium (Minneapolis: Society for Research in Child Development, April 19, 2001).
  81. C. Cook and J. D. Willms, "Balancing Work and Family Life," in Vulnerable Children – Findings from Canada's National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, J. Doug Willms, ed. (Alberta: University of Alberta Press, 2002): 183–197.
  82. Human Resources Development Canada/Government of Manitoba, A New Generation of Canadian Families: Raising Young Children – A New Look at Data from National Surveys (Canada, 2003).
  83. J. Zuzanek, "Parenting Time: Enough or Too Little," in Isuma Canadian Journal of Policy Research (Canada: Government of Canada, Summer 2001): 125–133.
  84. M. E. Lamb, "Nonparental Child Care: Context Quality, Correlated," in Handbook of Child Psychology vol. 4: Child Psychology in Practice, 5th edition, W. Damon, I. E. Sigel, and K. A. Renniger, eds. (New York: John Wiley and Sons Inc., 1998): 73–134.
  85. J. Shonkoff and D. Phillips, eds., From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development (Washington: National Academy Press, 2000).
  86. D. Kohen, C. Hertzman, and J. D. Willms, "The Importance of Quality Child Care," in Vulnerable Children – Findings from Canada's National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, J. Doug Willms, ed. (Alberta: University of Alberta Press, 2002): 261–276.
  87. S. Neuman and D. Dickinson, eds., Handbook of Early Literacy Research (New York: Guilford Press, 2001).
  88. A. G. Billings and R. H. Moos, "Comparisons of Children of Depressed and Nondepressed Parents: A Social-Environmental Perspective," in Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 11, 4 (1983): 463–486.
  89. M. A. Somers and J. D. Willms, "Maternal Depression and Childhood Vulnerability," in Vulnerable Children – Findings from Canada's National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, J. Doug Willms, ed. (Alberta: University of Alberta Press, 2002): 211–228.
  90. R. O. Pihl et al., Alcohol and Parenting: The Effects of Maternal Heavy Drinking Working Paper: W-98-27E (Ottawa: Human Resources Development Canada, 1998).
  91. Human Resources Development Canada/Statistics Canada, National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, Cycle 4 (2000–2001).
  92. Human Resources Development Canada/Government of Manitoba, A New Generation of Canadian Families: Raising Young Children – A New Look at Data from National Surveys (Canada, 2003).
  93. B. Hart and T. Risley, Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children (Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1995).
  94. J. Hoddinott et al., Is History Destiny? Resources, Transitions and Child Education Attainments in Canada Working Paper: SP-551-12-02E (Ottawa: Human Resources Development Canada, 2002).
  95. R. Tremblay, "When Children's Social Development Fails," in Development Health and the Wealth of Nations, D. Keating and C. Hertzman, eds. (New York: Guilford Press, 1999): 55–71.
  96. L. J. Walker and K. H. Hennig, "Parent-Child Relationships in Single-Parent Families," in Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science 29 (1997): 63–75.
  97. Human Resources Development Canada/Statistics Canada, National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, Cycle 4 (2000–2001).
  98. N. Marcil-Gratton, Growing Up with Mom and Dad? Children and Family Instability (Ottawa: Human Resources Development Canada, 1998).
  99. T. O'Connor and J. Jenkins, Marital Transitions and Children's Adjustments Working Paper: W-01-1-3E (Ottawa: Human Resources Development Canada, August 2000).
  100. Ibid.
  101. E. M. Hetherington, Coping with Divorce, Single Parenting and Remarriage: A Risk and Resilience Perspective (New Jersey: Erlbaum, 1999).
  102. T. Haddad, Custody Arrangements and the Development of Emotional or Behavioural Problems in Children Working Paper: W-98-9E (Ottawa: Human Resources Development Canada, 1998).
  103. T. O'Connor and J. Jenkins, Marital Transitions and Children's Adjustments Working Paper: W-01-1-3E (Ottawa: Human Resources Development Canada, August 2000); E. M. Hetherington, Coping with Divorce, Single Parenting and Remarriage: A Risk and Resilience Perspective (New Jersey: Erlbaum, 1999).
  104. There may be slight discrepancies apparent between some of the indicators for 1998–1999 reported in the 2002 Government of Canada report and those presented this year. Statistics Canada has a long standing policy that sample weights for surveys are calculated using the most reliable population counts available for the appropriate point in time. For intercensal years, these weights are typically based on population estimates. Once more reliable population counts become available (primarily via the Census, which is conducted every 5 years), the initial weights for the intercensal years are adjusted to reflect the final population counts. Updating the sample weights for surveys such as the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) and Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) is essential to ensure consistency between Statistics Canada's official population figures and the survey estimates.

    In order to ensure comparability between the data reported for 1998–1999 and 2000–2001, all NLSCY- and SLID-based indicators for 1998–1999 are being re-reported to reflect the revised weights. For those indicators based on the NLSCY, the cycle 3 (1998–1999) weight now reflects the population on January 1, 1999 according to the 2001 Census. For those indicators based on the SLID, the 2000 historical weight has been revised to population counts based on the 1996 Census.
  105. Acknowledgement for the development of this chapter is extended to Susan Taylor-Clapp of the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Health Canada.
  106. Perinatal is defined as the period around childbirth, especially the five months before and one month after birth.
  107. A Statistical Profile on the Health of First Nations In Canada (Government of Canada: Health Canada 2002).
  108. Ibid.
  109. Statistics Canada.http://www.statcan.ca/english/Pgdb/demo04b.htm
  110. United States Indian Health Service, 2000; R.W. Edwards and R. Maddon, The Health and Welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People (Canberra: Australia Bureau of Statistics, 2001).
  111. Statistics Canada, 2000.
  112. R.W. Edwards and R. Maddon, The Health and Welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People (Canberra: Australia Bureau of Statistics, 2001).
  113. Ananth & Wen, "Trends in fetal growth", Seminars in Perinatology, 26 (2002).
  114. Canadian Perinatal Health Report (Canada: Health Canada, 2000).
  115. Ibid.
  116. Acknowledgement for the development of this chapter is extended to Gail Fawcett and Paul Roberts of the Canadian Council on Social Development.
  117. Approximately 8000 children with disabilities were sampled in the PALS 2001. Children under 5 years of age and those 5 to 14 years of age were asked many common questions, however, there are portions of the survey that do not apply to younger children. For more information regarding the differences between the HALS and the PALS, refer to: "A New Approach to Disability Data: Changes between the 1991 Health and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS)", December 2002, catalogue no. 89-578-XIE, Statistics Canada, Housing, Family and Social Statistics Division.
  118. Unlike the 1986 and 1991 HALS which provided data on all provinces and territories, the 2001 PALS was conducted only in the ten provinces; the 2001 PALS does not cover any of the three territories.
  119. According to the 1986 HALS, the disability rate in this age group was 3.4%. According to the 1991 HALS, this figure had risen to 4.5%. Unlike the 1986 and 1991 HALS, however, no time comparison can be made with the 2001 PALS due to fundamental changes in the nature of the survey. The much lower rates being found in 2001 cannot be interpreted as a drop in the disability rate.
  120. For children 4 years of age and under in the 2001 PALS, severity level is divided into only two groups: "mild to moderate" and "severe to very severe". The severity scale is based upon both the number of types of activity limitations as well as the intensity of the limitations.
  121. Among children 4 years of age and under in 2001, only five types of disabilities were identified. In order of prevalence among children with disabilities in this age groups, these disability types are: delay (68%); chronic illness (62.6%); hearing (12.1% – use with caution due to low sample size); unknown disability type (8.9% – use with caution due to low sample size); and seeing (8% – use with caution due to low sample size).
  122. This was reported by 61.8% of all children with disabilities under 5 years of age.
  123. Among parents of young children with severe to very severe disabilities, this figure was 48.9%; and among parents of young children with mild to moderate disabilities, it was 30.3%.
  124. This excludes children living in the Territories and children for whom the concept of LICO is 'not applicable'. These figures cannot be compared with those released in last year's publication since they utilize different surveys with different screening criteria and different sampling techniques.
  125. Use estimate with caution due to sample size.
  126. Voices for Children Home Page, 2002. http://www.voicesforchildren.ca (September 6, 2002).
  127. Special needs refers to "disabilities, delays or health disorders that significantly increase the difficulty of obtaining and keeping adequate child care and/or child care-related services." (According to S. Irwin and D. Lero in their book In Our Way: Child Care Barriers to Full Workforce Participation Experienced by Parents of Children with Special Needs – and Potential Remedies, Pp. vi.)
  128. Canadian Institute of Child Health, The Health of Canada's Children: A CICH Profile – Third edition (Ottawa: Canadian Institute of Child Health, 2000).
  129. The severity level of the child's disability did not seem to make much difference when it came to being refused child care.
  130. Among those with severe to very severe disabilities, this figure was 70.1%; among those with mild to moderate disabilities, it was 39.5%.
  131. Use estimate with caution due to sample size.
  132. For more information on the derivation of some of these variables using the 2001 PALS and for some similar data for children 5 to 14 years of age with disabilities, see also: Children with Disabilities and their Families – Tables, July 2003, Catalogue No. 89-586-XIE.