Articles 2024

In October 2024, the Ontario Court of Appeal allowed an appeal in Mathur v Ontario, an ongoing youth-led climate case. The Court found that the Province voluntarily assumed a positive statutory obligation to combat climate change, meaning its target and plan need to be Charter compliant. Although the Court allowed the appeal, it declined to decide the application and instead remitted the matter for a new hearing before the same or another justice of the Superior Court.

A quick tour of ways to celebrate National Child Day and World Children's Day on November 20. Child Day is an opportunity to learn more about children's rights and, in 2024, to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

On August 7th, 2024, the Divisional Court of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released an important decision affirming the rights of children with capacity to make decisions about their own health care under Ontario’s Health Care Consent Act, 1996. This decision marks a pivotal moment in the province’s recognition of capable children’s indisputable right to consent to medical treatments.

This essay by a former summer student at Justice for Children and Youth argues that children should be able to recover damages from doctors for the negative lifelong consequences of medical decisions made preconception. The author looks to past and recent Ontario cases, including a strong dissent in Florence v Benzaquen, 2021 ONCA 523, to argue that the law is not settled in this area. The views expressed in this essay are those of the author only.

The article summarizes an interview with Jane Stewart, Chair of the Child and Youth Law Section.

The article discusses the April 25, 2024 Child and Youth Law Section program titled, “Capacity and Consent by Children and Youth: Legal Standards and Best Practices."

The article discusses the Ontario Ombudsman's investigative report entitled "Rights Unrecognized: Mia's Story."

Discussion of a February 27, 2024 program held by the University of Ottawa’s Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory on the Rights of the Child titled, “Parents, Schools and Children's Rights."

The article discusses the Supreme Court of Canada's recent decision in Reference re An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.

The article summarizes a discussion about Manitoba's FASD Justice Program that occurred during the October 20, 2023 Child and Youth Law and the Youth Criminal Justice Act Online Symposium organized by the Canadian Bar Association's Child and Youth Law Section.