The YCRH at the National NGO Forum for a Canadian Commissioner for Children and Young People – The Sandbox Project

On July 10 & 11, different representatives from a number of non-government organizations came together in Moncton, New Brunswick to talk about the need for a Canadian Commissioner for Children and Young People. My co-chair, Alicia Raimundo and I, represented the Young Canadians Roundtable on Health at the event. Over the course of six hours, we discussed: What should or could the role of the commissioner be? Who else should be sitting at the table? What is the plan of action we all need to contribute to in order to make this work? What would it change?

The initial idea was that there would be a Canadian Commissioner who would, in the simplest form, stand up for the rights of children and young people. When I read the agenda and stepped into the room on July 11th, I has actually thought “gee, this should be easy.” I was wrong. Not so easy.

While the bare bones were laid before we even arrived, since this wouldn’t be the first attempt at instituting a Canadian Commissioner for Children and Young People, we still needed to identify many aspects of what the role would look like and how it would function. All of us who attended the forum believe this is the time, that we can’t let it fail, and we need to take a stand and make this happen for the sake of our children and young people. But how?

Read More: http://www.sandboxproject.ca/all-articles/181-blog-the-ycrh-at-the-national-ngo-forum-for-a-canadian-commissioner-for-children-and-young-people