HEAR MY VOICE. Our Canada. Our Students. Our Profession. Information for Parliamentarians

Transcription

1 HEAR MY VOICE Our Canada. Our Students. Our Profession. Information for Parliamentarians

2 Canadian Teachers Federation 2490 Don Reid Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 1E1 Tel: or (toll free) Fax: Canadian Teachers Federation, 2015 All rights reserved. Any reproduction in whole or in part without the prior written consent of the Canadian Teachers Federation is prohibited. vox.ctf-fce.ca

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Fostering equity for all learners 2 Child and youth mental health 3 Child poverty 5 Sources 8

4 Founded in 1920, the Canadian Teachers Federation (CTF) is a national alliance of provincial and territorial teacher organizations that represent nearly 200,000 elementary and secondary school teachers across Canada. CTF is also a member of the international body of teachers, Education International. CTF s mission is to serve as a unified voice of teacher organizations in Canada on education and related social issues, by promoting high quality public education, professionalism, the right to free and full collective bargaining, trade union rights, human rights, equity, bilingualism and, national unity in a democratic society.

5 vox.ctf-fce.ca CTF believes that a strong publicly funded public education system, rooted in the principles of universality, equity, responsiveness and accountability, is essential to sustaining and promoting our democratic society working for the good of all. Therefore, we, the teachers of Canada, believe: that the best interests of all children and youth must guide each decision that society and its institutions make on their behalf. that the development of educational policy should be founded in the belief that public education is a public good for the whole of society. that Canada must honour its commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to make the well-being of children this nation s highest priority. that a responsible, knowledgeable, committed teaching profession is essential to the provision of quality public education. that teachers must have sufficient autonomy to apply their professional judgment. that quality schools are well supported with public resources. that the conditions under which teaching and learning take place have a direct impact on what teachers and students can achieve together. that the goals society sets for students and schools must be challenging and attainable. that there are many forms of success for schools and students including personal, social, academic, cultural and vocational success. Varied approaches are required to evaluate the extent to which schools and students achieve success. that the school curriculum is designed to prepare students to become caring responsible active citizens. that schools must be governed by people who are elected by, and accountable to the public. that change in schools is natural and healthy provided it is based on sound research and reasoning and in consultation with teachers. that lifelong learning is a right for all citizens and that programs developed should be universal, accessible and adequately funded. 1

6 FOSTERING EQUITY for all learners Child and youth mental health Child poverty 2 Our Canada. Our Students. Our Profession. Information for Parliamentarians

7 1 million young people aged 9-19 are living with a mental illness Child and Youth Mental Health In a recent Canadian Teachers Federation survey, 95% of teachers told us to advocate for child and youth mental health. There is growing recognition that mental health and well-being is an important factor influencing a student s ability to succeed in school. Among the findings of a 2012 survey of nearly 4,000 teachers, conducted by CTF working in collaboration with the Mental Health Commission of Canada, respondents told us that mental health problems among children and youth including attention deficit disorders, anxiety disorders, and depression are becoming an increasingly important issue in public schools. Teachers told us however that numerous barriers exist to mental health service provision for students. These include an insufficient number of school-based mental health professionals; a lack of adequate staff training in dealing with children s mental illness; and a lack of funding for school-based mental health services. Most teachers also believe that stigma and discrimination pose a major barrier to the provision of mental health services for students. Only a small minority of teachers could say that they had never witnessed unfair treatment of students (including bullying) because of a mental health problem. Teachers support the need to continue and broaden the important conversation about child and youth mental illness and mental health in order to raise awareness, and reduce and ultimately eliminate harmful stigma. While teachers feel they are part of the solution, they clearly cannot do it without support. This lack of support is also evidenced in data collected by the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC). In their report: Informing the Future: Mental Health indicators for Canada, the MHCC reports that 26.3% of those with a mental illness did not receive mental health care in This compares to 21.6% in

8 The MHCC states that, In 2011, an estimated 1.04 million young people aged 9-19 were living with a mental illness. This represents 23.4% or nearly one in four young people. According to the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association, Research indicates that at any given time, approximately one in seven Canadian children and youth under the age of 19 is likely to have a serious mental disorder that hinders ability to perform common tasks and disrupts day-to-day activities. Unfortunately, only one in five Canadian children who need mental health services currently receives them. This problem is even worse for children living in poverty. Insured health services normally only include the services of psychiatrists. Access to non-psychiatric care, is only partially funded by provinces or not covered at all thus disadvantaging many Canadians who are unable to pay. The federal government can play a strong leadership role in ensuring that mental health services are both comprehensive and accessible as specified in the Canada Health Act. The Government can encourage provinces and territories to have qualified guidance teachers in all schools and provide support to both promote child and youth mental health and prevent and address mental illness. In this regard CTF proposes that: a Federal Ministry of Child and Youth Services be established to harmonize policy and provision of services with a wide range of stakeholders to improve outcomes for children, youth and families. $350 million be directed to provincial/territorial governments to fund grassroots initiatives that partner schools and community organizations in promoting/fostering child and youth mental health. effective mental health programs for children and youth, based on scientific research and promising practices, be supported and/or developed for distribution and implementation across Canada in concert with the provinces and territories. the Federal Government ensure that Canadian children have ready access to mental health services provided under provincial and territorial health insurance. 20% 1 out of 5 children who need mental health services receives them 4 Our Canada. Our Students. Our Profession. Information for Parliamentarians

9 4O% of indigenous children in Canada live in poverty Child Poverty In a recent CTF survey, 93% of teachers told us to advocate for the elimination of child poverty. A generation of children has grown up in poverty since the 1989 all-party House of Commons resolution to end child poverty in Canada, as well as the signing into international law of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and still we wait. According to the most recent Campaign 2000 report card, child and family poverty is higher now than it was in 1989 when the resolution was passed 1,331,530 children (19.1%) in 2012 from 1,066,150 children (15.8%) in Poverty has a negative impact on student learning and development. Many low-income children experience reduced motivation to learn, delayed cognitive development, lower achievement, less participation in extra-curricular activities, lower career aspirations, interrupted school attendance, lower university attendance, an increased risk of illiteracy, and higher drop-out rates. (Hess, 1989) While poverty and inequality are related terms, they are not one and the same. In her submission to the Standing Committee on Finance studying income inequality in Canada, Laurel Rothman of Campaign 2000 makes this observation about the relationship between poverty and inequality: Poverty and inequality are different yet clearly related trends in society that have significant implications for all Canadians and for the well-being of families in particular. The poverty rate is the number of people who live on limited resources below an established income threshold. Income inequality, in contrast, refers to the way in which income is distributed across the socio-economic spectrum from low to high income. In recent years there is growing awareness among many groups in society that income inequality is growing in Canada as it is in many countries and that high poverty rates usually co-exist with high income inequality. (p. 2) 5

10 André Picard notes that Children born to low-income parents are twice as likely to end up in special education classes and three times as likely to suffer mental health problems than those in the highest income group. They re also twice as likely to drop out before completing high school. Chudnovsky observes that the relationship between poverty and learning can be a vicious cycle stating that, I believe that being poor makes it hard to learn. And when it s too hard to learn, lifting yourself out of the poverty you re born into is incredibly hard. Certain vulnerable groups continue to experience higher levels of poverty than others Aboriginal peoples (one in four First Nations children lives in poverty), recent immigrants and racialized communities, female lone-parent families, and persons with disabilities. In addition the economic and social costs of not addressing poverty run into the billions of dollars annually. We believe that addressing poverty is fundamentally a human rights issue. The UN notes that a human rights-based approach to tackling poverty recognizes that in addition to a lack of economic and material resources, poverty also contributes to social exclusion and is a violation of basic human dignity. As Campaign 2000 has demonstrated, the positive impact of public investments in the form of government transfer payments in reducing the child poverty rate is significant. Some progress is being made at the provincial level in reducing poverty. Most provinces and territories have put in place or are developing poverty reduction plans or strategies. Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. And overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life. Nelson Mandela The federal government also has a critically important role to play in poverty reduction. The Dignity for All Campaign s National Anti-Poverty Plan for Canada, four years in the making and released in early February 2015 after an extensive process of community engagement, explains the rationale for strong federal leadership in reducing and ultimately eliminating poverty (the following is excerpted from the report, p. 8): The task of eliminating poverty requires all levels of government to work collaboratively and in concert alongside other sectors. In this regard, the federal government has a fundamental and unique role to play. As the signatory of international human rights treaties committing Canada to uphold human rights including the right to an adequate standard of living, the federal government itself must meet certain obligations and must show leadership. Moreover, the federal government is uniquely placed to address poverty nationally in light of the role it plays with respect to: Income security programs (e.g., Canada Child Tax Benefit, GST Tax Credit, Working Income Tax Benefit, and Guaranteed Income Supplement for seniors); [Over 80% of all spending on income security programs comes from the federal government.] Programs and services designed to economically assist Inuit, First Nations, and Métis peoples, newcomers, and persons with disabilities; and Federal transfers to the provinces and territories under programs such as the Canada Social Transfer and Affordable Housing Agreements. The federal government also plays an essential role with respect to revenue, ensuring, for example, the fair and progressive taxation of individuals and businesses. Tax policy is a key component of an effective anti-poverty plan as it is a vehicle through which government can generate sufficient revenues to support vibrant and effective public programs in ways that equitably distribute the costs. 6 Our Canada. Our Students. Our Profession. Information for Parliamentarians

11 The federal government must link with poverty reduction efforts across all levels of government (while navigating provincial/territorial distinctions) and across the federal government itself, leveraging collective knowledge and action to maximum effect. In a highly decentralized federation such as Canada, achieving success demands strong relationships between governments. This includes meaningful consultation and liaising with provinces and territories. We firmly believe the time has now come for strong federal leadership on this issue. There is much the federal government can do to reduce child poverty in Canada. In this regard CTF proposes that: a Federal Ministry of Child and Youth Services be established to harmonize policy and provision of services with a wide range of stakeholders to improve outcomes for children, youth and families; the federal government commit to a comprehensive federal poverty reduction strategy for Canada that includes realistic measurable targets and timelines developed in broad consultation with provincial and territorial governments, Aboriginal governments and organizations, non-governmental organizations and people living in poverty. The strategy would include but not be limited to the following measures: > restore and expand eligibility for Employment Insurance to better support individuals separated from their employment. This would involve easing eligibility requirements, extending benefit durations, and increasing benefit rates; > an enhanced child benefit for low-income families increased to a maximum of $5,400 per child (in 2014 dollars and indexed to inflation); > an emergency infusion of $500 million in 2015 transferred to provinces/territories and Indigenous communities earmarked for regulated child care as the foundation upon which to build a comprehensive national early childhood education and care (ECEC) policy framework and system; and > the institution of a guaranteed minimum income program. 1 in 7 users of shelters is a CHILD 7

12 Sources Campaign 2000 (2014). Child Poverty, 25 Years Later: we can fix this 2014 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada. Campaign 2000 (Aug. 6, 2014). How Canada Can Meet its Commitment to End Child Poverty in Canada. Submission to Federal Pre-Budget Consultation. Campaign 2000 (April 5, 2013). Income Inequality through the Lens of Families with Children in Canada. Submission to Standing Committee on Finance Re: M-315 Study on Income Inequality. Campaign 2000 (2013). Canada s Real Economic Action Plan Begins With Poverty Eradication 2013 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada. Canadian Teachers Federation (2013). Child and Youth Mental Health CTF Hill Day Brief. Canadian Teachers Federation. CTF Handbook Canadian Teachers Federation (2013). Reducing Child Poverty CTF Hill Day Brief. Chudnovsky, Anna (Nov. 25, 2014). In my class, child poverty is no numbers game. The Tyee. Dignity for All (Feb. 2015). A National Anti-Poverty Plan for Canada. Ottawa. Froese-Germain, Bernie, & Riel, Richard (2012). Understanding Teachers Perspectives on Student Mental Health Findings from a National Survey. Canadian Teachers Federation. Ottawa. Hess, Melanie (1989). Children, Schools and Poverty. Canadian Teachers Federation. Ottawa. Mandela, Nelson (Feb. 3, 2005). In full: Mandela s poverty speech. BBC News. Meldrum, Leigh, Venn, David, & Kutcher, Stan (May 2009). Mental health in schools: How teachers have the power to make a difference. Health and Learning Magazine. Mental Health Commission of Canada. Making the Case for Investing in Mental Health in Canada. Mental Health Commission of Canada (February, 2014). Informing the Future: Mental Health Indicators for Canada. Picard, André (Nov. 12, 2013). Wealth begets health: Why universal medical care only goes so far. Globe & Mail. article /#dashboard/follows/? Stuart, Heather (April 2012). Mental illness stigma a problem in our schools. CTF Perspectives. The Canadian Press (June 30, 2014). Guaranteed $20K income for all Canadians endorsed by academics. Wheeler, David R. (April 14, 2014) What if government guaranteed you an income. Young, Margot & Mulvale, James P (October 30, 2009) Possibilities and Prospects: The Debate Over a Guaranteed Income. 8 Our Canada. Our Students. Our Profession. Information for Parliamentarians