In advance of the Representative’s report on child participation in family law and child welfare court proceedings, to be released later this year, the FREDA Centre at Simon Fraser University has composed this literature review on the topic. The Representative thanks coordinators Professor Emerita Margaret Jackson and the Honourable Donna Martinson.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) protects all aspects of a child’s life and ensures that they are appropriately protected in economic, political, social and legal environments. Children’s entitlement to legal representation and to voice their best interests during court proceedings form a necessary component of this overarching protection. Canada ratified the UNCRC in 1991, and yet many shortcomings remain in British Columbia’s and Canada’s approach to children’s rights during legal proceedings.