The Government of Canada has been preparing a Food Policy for Canada, engaging stakeholders and experts by asking people to share their priorities for Canada’s food system. In their What We Heard Report, one of the four priorities is to increase access to affordable, nutritious, and safe food, particularly among more MORE
Last Friday, First Call submitted recommendations to the Ministry of Labour and The Law Institute of B.C. calling for better government protection for children who are working. First Call’s recommendations provide a framework for the B.C. government to develop employment standards consistent with Canada’s commitment to establish 16 as the age for MORE
Check Your Head is looking for youth aged 15-25 years old to join the Youth Building a New Economy cohort. The program runs from October 2018 – February 2019 and kicks off on October 3rd with a “Speed Dating” event where you can meet the partner organizations, including First Call. Applications are due October MORE
Earlier this week, the Representative for Children and Youth and the Ministry of Children and Family Development released a joint special report. Among other findings, the report notes that in 2017-18, 480 infants were brought into care within the first 12 months of birth and that 273 of those infants were MORE
Find our most recent article on child labour on the Columbia Institute’s Centre for Civic Governance blog. We provide an overview of child employment standards in the province and discuss the findings from our injury claims research and public opinion survey in June. The article contains a quick overview of what MORE
The Greater Nanaimo Early Years Partnership released their third State of the Child Report that supports investments in the first years of a child’s life and highlights how the community supports the positive development of young people. It provides an overview of the situations of family and economic wellbeing, health and wellness, MORE
The #AllonBoard campaign has launched a petition calling on Metro Vancouver for affordable and accessible transit. The campaign advocates for: Free transit for all children and youth 0-18 Sliding scale monthly pass system based on income They also advocate for a social justice and poverty reduction mandate for Translink, non-stigmatizing affordability measures, fare evasion MORE
University of Victoria researchers teamed up to share findings of a long-term study of street-involved youth in BC. The researchers followed 200 participants over a period of 6-10 years and held interviews throughout the process. The findings speak to the nature of the instability they experience and their struggles toward adult lives MORE
Over the past week, we have watched news stories about children forcibly separated from their parents at the United States-Mexico border. A few months into the U.S. President’s new ‘zero tolerance policy’ there is photo, video, and audio evidence showing children in distress, confined in cages, and housed in detention MORE
This spring the Government of Canada invited responses to a proposed new framework for a human rights-based approach to housing. First Call’s submission recommended the federal government focus on four areas of action: ensure access to safe and affordable housing for children and youth who live in households struggling with poverty; ensure MORE
The Tyee: Lessons from Care: ‘We’ll Be Triumphant in Our Battle to Make This System Great’ The Province: Amy Lubik, Ben Parfitt and Grand Chief Stewart Phillip: Scientific review of hydraulic fracking doesn’t go far enough The Tyee: Changes Coming — Slowly — to Indigenous Child Welfare in BC CBC News: B.C. Métis to MORE
This research points to the importance of school-led social and emotional learning in promoting positive mental health. The paper highlights the multi-faceted approach undertaken in British Columbia over the past decade to promote positive mental health through social-emotional learning (SEL) in schools. SEL has been implemented in school curriculum, recently in MORE
Aunt Leah’s Independent Lifeskills Society invites you to join the Friendly Landlord Network. You can register your home and help to end youth homelessness. Over 40% of homeless youth in Metro Vancouver have had experience with the foster care system. There are five benefits of joining the network: Fill vacancies quickly MORE
The rate of childhood obesity in Canada has been rising steadily in recent decades and being overweight or obese impacts the mental health and well-being of children, as well as other aspects of their lives. There is unequivocal evidence that the marketing of unhealthy foods and sugar-sweetened beverages has a negative impact MORE
Active & Safe Central is a resource for children, youth and adults who engage in or facilitate sport and recreational activities, providing information on common injuries, risk factors, and injury prevention for their activity of choice. With approximately 90 per cent of injuries predictable and preventable, this new online resource helps MORE