Child Rights Legislation Tracker

Part 1 of this enactment enacts the Online Harms Act, whose purpose is to, among other things, promote the online safety of persons in Canada, reduce harms caused to persons in Canada as a result of harmful content online and ensure that the operators of social media services in respect of which that Act applies are transparent and accountable with respect to their duties under that Act.

Part 1 of this enactment enacts the Protection of Minors in the Digital Age Act, the purpose of which is to provide for a safe online environment for minors by requiring owners and operators of platforms such as online services or applications to put the interests of minors first and to ensure that minors’ personal data is not used in a manner that could compromise their privacy, health or well-being.

Part 2 amends the Criminal Code to, among other things.

This enactment provides for the development of a national framework to regulate advertising for sports betting in Canada and to set national standards for prevention of risk for persons negatively impacted. It also provides for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to review its regulations and policies to assess their adequacy and effectiveness in reducing the incidence of harms resulting from the proliferation of advertising of sports betting.

This enactment provides for the development of a national strategy to support children and youths in Canada.

This enactment provides for the development of a national framework to establish a school food program to ensure that all children in Canada have access to healthy food.

This enactment sets out the Government of Canada’s vision for a Canada-wide early learning and child care system. It also sets out the Government of Canada’s commitment to maintaining long-term funding relating to early learning and child care to be provided to the provinces and Indigenous peoples. Finally, it creates the National Advisory Council on Early Learning and Child Care.

An Act to amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, to make related amendments to the Food and Drugs Act and to repeal the Perfluorooctane Sulfonate Virtual Elimination Act.

This enactment amends the Canada Elections Act and the Regulation Adapting the Canada Elections Act for the Purposes of a Referendum to lower the voting age from 18 years to 16.

This enactment provides for the development of a federal framework designed to support autistic Canadians, their families and their caregivers.

This enactment makes it an offence for organizations to make sexually explicit material available to young persons on the Internet. It also enables a designated enforcement authority to take steps to prevent sexually explicit material from being made available to young persons on the Internet in Canada.

This enactment enacts the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act, which imposes an obligation on certain government institutions and private-sector entities to report on the measures taken to prevent and reduce the risk that forced labour or child labour is used by them or in their supply chains. The Act provides for an inspection regime applicable to entities and gives the Minister the power to require an entity to provide certain information.

This enactment also amends the Customs Tariff to allow for a prohibition on the importation of goods manufactured or produced, in whole or in part, by forced labour or child labour as those terms are defined in the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act.

This enactment designates the 4th day of January in each and every year as “National Ribbon Skirt Day”.

This enactment amends the Citizenship Act to provide citizenship for certain persons when they transition out of the care of a child welfare agency or foster parent. It also amends the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to provide that, in certain circumstances, a removal order cannot be enforced against a person who was not a citizen when they transitioned out of such care.
 

This enactment repeals section 43 of the Criminal Code (correction of child by force) in order to respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s call to action number 6.

This enactment provides for the development of a national framework designed to support Canadians with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, their families and their caregivers.

This enactment amends the Criminal Code to, among other things,
increase, from 10 to 14 years, the maximum penalty of imprisonment for indictable weapons offences in sections 95, 96, 99, 100 and 103;

• increase, from 10 to 14 years, the maximum penalty of imprisonment for indictable weapons offences in sections 95, 96, 99, 100 and 103;
• establish a regime that would permit any person to apply for an emergency prohibition order or an emergency limitations on access order and allow the judge to protect the security of the person or of anyone known to them;
• deem certain firearms to be prohibited devices for the purpose of specified provisions;
• create a new offence for altering a cartridge magazine to exceed its lawful capacity;
• include, for interception of private communications purposes, sections 92 and 95 in the definition of “offence” in section 183; and
• authorize employees of certain federal entities who are responsible for security to be considered as public officers for the purpose of section 117.‍07.

Part 1 enacts the Consumer Privacy Protection Act to govern the protection of personal information of individuals while taking into account the need of organizations to collect, use or disclose personal information in the course of commercial activities. In consequence, it repeals Part 1 of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and changes the short title of that Act to the Electronic Documents Act. It also makes consequential and related amendments to other Acts.

Part 2 enacts the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act, which establishes an administrative tribunal to hear appeals of certain decisions made by the Privacy Commissioner under the Consumer Privacy Protection Act and to impose penalties for the contravention of certain provisions of that Act. It also makes a related amendment to the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada Act.

Part 3 enacts the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act to regulate international and interprovincial trade and commerce in artificial intelligence systems by requiring that certain persons adopt measures to mitigate risks of harm and biased output related to high-impact artificial intelligence systems. That Act provides for public reporting and authorizes the Minister to order the production of records related to artificial intelligence systems. That Act also establishes prohibitions related to the possession or use of illegally obtained personal information for the purpose of designing, developing, using or making available for use an artificial intelligence system and to the making available for use of an artificial intelligence system if its use causes serious harm to individuals.

This enactment amends the Citizenship Act to, among other things:

• ensure that citizenship by descent is conferred on all persons who were born outside Canada before the coming into force of this enactment to a parent who was a citizen;
• confer citizenship by descent on persons born outside Canada after the first generation, on or after the coming into force of this enactment, to a parent who is a citizen and who had a substantial connection to Canada before the person’s birth;
• allow citizenship to be granted under section 5.‍1 of that Act to all persons born outside Canada who were adopted before the coming into force of this enactment by a parent who was a citizen;
• allow citizenship to be granted under section 5.‍1 of that Act to persons born outside Canada who are adopted on or after the coming into force of this enactment by a parent who is a citizen and who had a substantial connection to Canada before the person’s adoption;
• restore citizenship to persons who lost their citizenship because they did not make an application to retain it under the former section 8 of that Act or because they made an application under that section that was not approved; and
• allow certain persons who become citizens as a result of the coming into force of this enactment to access a simplified process to renounce their citizenship.

This enactment amends the Canadian Bill of Rights to include the right to proper housing at a reasonable cost and free of unreasonable barriers.

This enactment establishes criteria in respect of early learning and child care programs that must be satisfied before transfer payments may be made by the Government of Canada to a province in support of those programs. It also provides for the establishment of an advisory council to advise the Minister of Employment and Social Development on matters relating to early learning and child care.

This enactment amends the Canada Elections Act to lower the federal voting age in Canada from 18 to 16 years of age.

This enactment provides for the development of a national school food program to ensure that all children in Canada have access to healthy food.

This enactment enacts the Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights, which provides that every person residing in Canada has the following rights:

1. the right to a healthy and ecologically balanced environment;
2. the right to reasonable, timely and affordable access to information regarding the environment;
3. the right to effective, informed and timely public participation in decision-making regarding the environment, including in relation to any Act of Parliament respecting the environment and any environmental policy of the Government of Canada;
4. the right to bring a matter regarding the protection of the environment before courts or tribunals; and
5. the right to request a review of any Act of Parliament respecting the environment, any instrument made under such an Act or any environmental policy of the Government of Canada.

This enactment requires the Minister of Finance to develop a national framework to provide all persons over the age of 17 in Canada with access to a guaranteed livable basic income. It also provides for reporting requirements with respect to the framework.

This enactment requires the Minister of the Environment, in consultation or cooperation with any interested persons, bodies, organizations or communities, to develop a national strategy to promote efforts across Canada to address the harm caused by environmental racism. It also provides for reporting requirements in relation to the strategy.

This enactment amends the Canada Elections Act to lower the federal voting age in Canada from 18 to 16 years of age.

This enactment amends the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to allow a parent or grandparent who applies for a temporary resident visa as a visitor to purchase private health insurance outside Canada and to stay in Canada for a period of five years.

It also requires the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to prepare and table a report in respect of a reduction to the minimum income requirement that the child or grandchild must meet in order for the visiting parent or grandparent to be able to enter and remain in Canada for an extended period.

This enactment enacts the Ending the Use of Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act, which imposes an obligation on certain entities to report on the measures taken to prevent and reduce the risk that forced labour or child labour is used at any step in the production of goods in Canada or elsewhere by them or in the production of goods they import into Canada. The Act provides for an inspection regime and gives the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness the power to require an entity to provide certain information.

The enactment also amends the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act to require the Minister of Public Works and Government Services to ensure that, in relation to materiel or services acquired for the use of a government department, the risk that forced labour or child labour is used is prevented or reduced. It also requires the Minister to table annually in each House of Parliament a report on the measures taken during the previous year to prevent and reduce that risk.

Finally, the enactment makes a related amendment to the Customs Tariff.

This enactment amends the Food and Drugs Act to prohibit food and beverage marketing directed at persons under 13 years of age.

This enactment amends the Criminal Code to repeal a provision that authorizes the correction of a child by force if certain criteria are met.

This enactment amends the Criminal Code to replace the term “child pornography” with “child sexual abuse material” and makes consequential amendments to other Acts.

This enactment amends the Employment Insurance Act to introduce a new type of special benefits: an attachment benefit of 15 weeks for adoptive parents and parents of children conceived through surrogacy. It also amends the Canada Labour Code to extend parental leave accordingly.