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this page Newsletters - The International Year of the Family
Canada
The diversity of family structure in Canada has encouraged us to define family in functional terms - as a core group of people who are deeply committed to each other and the responsibilities of assisting each other through the challenges of life: caring for children, the ill and the elderly. Launching young people into education, training jobs and careers and establishing new homes also requires intensive support and guidance from family members; often needed yet again when job loss or career change occur.
The International Year of the Family in 1994 emphasized the importance of community support for the family in meeting these challenges. Canadians seek to provide this support through advocating for family-friendly legislation and where necessary, developing community projects.
Canadians look to their governments for leadership, and governments at all levels - municipal, provincial and federal - are monitored and lobbied by advocacy groups. Advocacy has also intensified at the international level, where the United Nations agreements set a standard for our evolving global community. Specifically, a coalition of advocacy groups in Canada has focused on utilizing the UN review process of the World Summit on Social Development, to keep the national Government alert to the important issues of poverty, employment and inclusion, which were the focus of this Summit. Provincial governments have already begun appointing personnel to analyze all pending provincial policy and legislation for its impact on families. Some achievements include the recent legislation giving one full year of parental leave for new mothers or fathers, paid at 60% or more of salary. Government also encourages, with funding, programmes which address the critical “early years” of childhood, since these years are believed to have far-reaching impact on a child's development. Another improvement has been legislation allowing for eight weeks' leave for employees who must care for a dying relative.
In a practical way, churches and other groups provide day care, elder care and, occasionally, a project such as Habitat housing where everyone helps to build a home for a needy family. Government-sponsored job programmes provide salary replacement to small businesses who hire youth for that essential first employment. Partnered with the YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association), governments contribute to skill-building programmes for women, of all faiths, which include on-the-job experience, shown to result in an 80% success rate for full-time employment. Recently, professional social service programmes are being expanded to provide services that create stronger links between Canadian families and newly arrived immigrants and refugees. With all these initiatives, Canadians are becoming accustomed to changes in our families and in our communities. This may include having older children stay longer living at home as they seek to launch their careers or, as well, becoming hosts, mentors and friends, to strangers from afar. We continue to work with our governments, as well as within our communities, in support of our families, to strengthen and reinforce family life in a changing world.
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