Today has been proclaimed National Child Day in Toronto. Since 1993, this day has been observed across Canada to acknowledge the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and their rights as active participants in their own lives and communities and recognizes that children should have opportunities for meaningful contributions to decision making.
The City is recognizing National Child Day as part of a new Child-Friendly TO project, which, in part, aims to develop stronger communication channels between Toronto’s children and its decision-makers and planners. The goal is to advance Toronto as a nurturing, supportive, equitable and healthy place for children to live and grow.
“National Child Day is a wonderful opportunity to encourage children across Toronto to be actively engaged in their city and its future,” said Mayor John Tory. “Today, we recognize our local youth and their valuable contributions in making Toronto a great place to live and thrive.”
An event was held today at City Hall with local Grade 4 and 5 students. The students met with Mayor John Tory, Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health, Shanley McNamee, Interim General Manager of Toronto Children’s Services and other City staff and shared why it’s important to listen to children and how to make Toronto a more child-friendly city.
“Children make up 15 per cent of Toronto’s population and as our youngest residents, they have a very unique perspective on their world and our city,” said Dr. de Villa. “When we listen carefully to children, their experiences and opinions can enrich our decisions and our planning process. National Child Day is a great chance to highlight their important views on how to build and maintain a healthier city now and for the future.”
“Toronto is a great place to live and many children are doing well. Most children are born healthy, they have positive experiences in their early years and they enter school ready to succeed at their learning goals,” said McNamee. “However, we also know that one in four children in Toronto lives in poverty and that opportunities to thrive are not the same for all children. Listening to children creates opportunity and improves equity. To build a city that is friendly and nurturing for all children, we need to understand what living in the city is like for a child. This is one of the goals of the City’s new Child Friendly TO project.”
More information about National Child Day is available at http://ow.ly/d7ow30mFySj.
This release is also available on the City’s website: http://ow.ly/SdyD30mGH80
Toronto is Canada’s largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of more than 2.9 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world’s most livable cities. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/TorontoComms, on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/cityofto or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/cityofto.
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