Home › Policy Articles: Children & Family: Standard of Living: 2003

Lefebvre and Merrigan begin their report by pointing out that most children in Canada are emotionally, physically, and socially healthy, yet they suggest there are some disturbing trends relating to children in Canada. Recent reports have revealed that child abuse and neglect have increased, juvenile crime is rising, children are consuming more alcohol and drugs than previous generations, and suicide rates are rising.

Newly elected Premier Jean Charest stated that his government must lower taxes because the current load is hindering Quebec’s development. In this Economic Note the authors assess the size of the province’s tax burden and present a clear picture of the challenge awaiting the new government.

This paper was commissioned in the Spring of 2002 by the Panel on the Role of Government, chaired by Ron Daniels of the University of Toronto Law School. It provides a broad survey of the way in which the patterns of family, work, and community life, for the people of Ontario, have been transformed in recent decades. Author Judith Maxwell argues that social policy principles developed in the 1960s and 1970s no longer provide adequately for the needs of Ontario citizens. She argues, however, that new ideas have begun to emerge.

In this report, Beauvais and Jenson explore the idea that the area in which children live has an impact on their developmental outcomes. They point out that current research suggests that a child’s individual circumstances are not solely accountable for his/her developmental achievement and life successes; neighbourhoods, in terms of their composition and condition, also have an impact. Beauvais and Jenson seek to provide more concise information about the relationship between neighbourhoods and child outcomes.