Oak Bay agreed to write a letter asking the province for action on children’s rights after hearing from the Victoria Family Court and Youth Justice Committee. The committee is charged with being aware of the circumstances of youth and families who may come into contact with the justice system.
According to the UN, Children’s Rights include general principles including non-discrimination, that the best interests of the children be a primary consideration, that the child has the right to be heard and addresses specific rights.
The committee says it hears from police resources that they experience the loss of a child in the Capital Region at the rate of about one per year, which the committee and resource members find “unacceptable.”
They’re seeking similar support from the CRD board, every municipal council and school board of the Capital Region.
“The health of these young people is not a provincial issue, nor a municipal issue – it is a human issue,” said Coun. Tara Ney after the meeting. “We are all policy actors when it comes to the well-being of our young people. I fully support a letter from our municipality that communicates to the province that they take seriously the failings of the systems for these vulnerable children who have been taken into care. We must all speak out to properly protect these children. These children are part of our lives and our future.”
Oak Bay will pen a letter supporting the resolution Ney called a “no-brainer.”
Local law and children’s rights advocates are concerned by the actions that continue to plague interventions in the name of protection and request that we adhere to the principles enunciated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.