Council approves motion to deliver Children's Bill of Rights

Prince Rupert now has a Children's
Bill of Rights after it was adopted
on Monday evening at council

An initiative from Councillor Blair Mirau made it to the finish line at Monday evening's City Council session, as Council members passed a motion to approve the introduction of a Children's Bill of Rights for the community.

With a welcome from the Mayor for a number of children in the audience at City Council, Mr. Mirau outlined how the concept of the Children's Bill of Right was created, with the project coming out of the attendance of a city delegation to the Cities Fit For Children Summit  held in Vernon last fall.

At that gathering, Councillor Mirau, City Planner Zeno Krekic and Kate Toye from Success reviewed a number of issues that were up for discussion, with the concept of the Bill of Rights for Children resonating with the Councillor, who came back to the city with a plan for a Prince Rupert version.

The elements that are part of the Children's Bill of Rights are as follows:

All children in the City of Prince Rupert regardless of age, gender, religion, ethnicity, ability, and socio-economic status, have the right to safe, accessible, affordable, and inclusive opportunities that:

Meet their physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual needs 

Enable them to create, discover, explore, and learn to play in safe environments

Promote sustainable living, clean air and water, and toxic free environments

Encourage a strong sense of self-worth and belonging

Recognize them as equal citizens and engage them to actively participate in decision-making that affects them

Ensure their voices are heard, respected, and valued by their local government.

Council voted to approve the motion, Mr. Mirau noted that it would be officially presented at a Children's Day in the Park event in early July.

You can review the full document below (click to expand):

The introduction of the motion and Councillor Mirau's observations towards it can be viewed from

the City's Video Archive, it starts at the one hour five minute mark.

 

Further background on Monday's Council session can be reviewed from our Council Timeline feature.

A wider review of Council discussions over the year can be found on our Council Discussion archive page.