Public Dialogue on the National Children's Agenda- Developing a Shared Vision
a shared vision for Canada's children
next steps-how can we respond?
Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial governments have been working together to develop the National Children's Agenda. The core of the Agenda is its vision and values for children, founded on the belief that children’s well-being is a priority for all Canadians. The Agenda also sets out goals for our children and ourselves, and suggests ways Canadians can work together to achieve these goals. Finally, the Agenda discusses tracking children’s progress and sharing information in order that we can know how to reach our goals.
"We need more sports and dances and fun things to do to keep us active."
... a youth participant
Children are everyone’s future. Parents, communities and organizations working on behalf of children have been seeking opportunities to share their work and experience. Provincial and territorial governments have been developing more comprehensive approaches to serve children and families. New efforts are being made in response to the knowledge we now have about the importance of healthy child development.
The National Children’s Agenda asks that each of us encourage and contribute to efforts across Canada to improve children’s lives. It is a commitment to take action as a country—with cooperation from governments, communities, businesses, voluntary organizations and citizens—to ensure that children have the best possible start in life.
Context
The National Children's Agenda is in keeping with the spirit of the Social Union Framework Agreement, an ongoing commitment among participating governments to improve cooperation among governments in order to make social programs more efficient and effective.
In December 1997, Canada's First Ministers asked the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Council of Ministers on Social Policy Renewal to engage the public in developing a shared vision for enhancing the well-being of Canada’s children.
The Council recognized that an agenda for children requires a shared vision and a common understanding of children's changing circumstances and needs, both as children and as future adults. In collaboration with Canada’s five national Aboriginal organizations, the Council published a document entitled A National Children’s Agenda—Developing A Shared Vision. This document invited people to discuss common values and goals for children, and to consider a vision that reflects our beliefs about children and our commitment to their well-being. In addition, the document included an aboriginal perspective on children’s issues, as well as background material and appendices on what we know about children and on some child initiatives across Canada.
A supplementary document, A National Children's Agenda—Measuring Child Well-being and Monitoring Progress, promoted discussion about how governments and Canadians can measure children’s progress and share information about how to improve children’s well-being.
In May 1999, governments launched a dialogue with citizens across the country to gather comments and ideas about the draft vision, as set out in the two dialogue documents. This is in keeping with the Social Union Framework Agreement, which calls upon governments to provide opportunities for Canadians to participate in developing social priorities.
This report provides an overview of the comments and ideas provided by organizations and citizens—including children and youth—from across Canada. The amended vision, values and goals at the core of the Agenda are also included. These amended statements reflect important suggestions offered during the dialogue process.