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By Troy Gillard

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Report highlights COVID-19’s impact on Canadian children

Sep 2, 2020 | 1:57 PM

CALGARY – A new report documents how Canadian children have been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The findings of Raising Canada 2020 reveal that many of the top threats to childhood, including mental illness, food insecurity, child abuse, physical inactivity and poverty may be increasing – or are in danger of increasing – because of the pandemic. This report highlights new data related to these threats and points to emerging concerns.

‘Raising Canada 2020’ is the third in an annual series of reports that track the top threats to childhood. The report is jointly published by Children First Canada and the University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine’s O’Brien Institute for Public Health (OIPH) and the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI).

The report’s authors say the state of childhood in Canada has been on the decline for more than a decade and that in recent months, the harsh realities facing young Canadians have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the report, one-third of children in Canada do not enjoy a safe and healthy childhood; one in three Canadians has experienced abuse before the age of 15; one in five children live in poverty, and suicide is now the leading cause of death for children aged 10 to 14.

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The report shows that Black, Indigenous (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) and other racialized children are more likely to be exposed to adverse childhood experiences such as poverty and abuse, being overrepresented in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems and being suspended or expelled from school because of systemic racism and discrimination.

“Since the outset of the pandemic, we have been worried that children were being disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Early indicators from this report suggest that children’s health is in jeopardy,” says Sara Austin, founder and CEO of Children First Canada. “How the government chooses to respond will change the trajectory of children’s lives.”

“This report is a stark reminder of the significant threats to child health and wellness in Canada likely exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Brent Hagel, Professor of the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary and a member of OIPH and ACHRI. “It is also a call to action for us to address these issues and protect children’s rights.”

The full ‘Rising Canada 2020’ report can be read here.