Child Poverty in Canada and the Rights of the Child

The purpose of this article is to examine the problem of child poverty in Canada in light of Canada's commitments under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. By ratifying the Convention in 1991, Canada was obligated to advance the basic economic security rights of children under Article 27. A particular problem, as Canada recognized, was child poverty. In accord with the Convention, Canada took important measures to overcome the problem. However, child poverty has persisted as a serious problem, putting at risk the exercise of children's rights in ways that are more far-reaching than often thought.