CRC - 1st Report - Government of Canada

Statistical Analysis

1381. This section contains statistical data on the situation of children in Canada relevant to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The data complement the information provided in Canada's first report under this Convention.

1382. The document is organized in six parts:

a) population characteristics;
b) family perspectives;
c) children's health;
d) economic well-being;
e) education
f) crime and justice.

1383. This information is intended to respond as closely as possible to the statistical information requested by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in its General Guidelines, that is, statistical information on family environment and alternative care, basic health and welfare, education, leisure and cultural activities, and special measures.

1384. This document was prepared by the Target Group Project of Statistics Canada. The data in the report are drawn from a variety of Statistics Canada sources such as the Census of Canada, the Labour Force Survey, the Survey of Consumer Finances, the General Social Survey, the Health and Activity Limitation Survey, and the Canadian National Child Care Study, as well as from other federal government departments.

Highlights

1385. In 1991, there were 6.8 million Canadians under the age of 18. These young people made up 25 per cent of the total population. Both the number of children and their share of the population have fallen since 1971 when there were 7.7 million people under the age of 18, representing 36 per cent of the total population.

1386. In 1991, 42,200 children immigrated to Canada; they made up 18 per cent of all immigrants. The number of immigrant children in 1991 was about three times higher than in the 1983-1985 period.

1387. Refugees make up a growing share of immigrant children. In 1991, 10,800 children immigrating to Canada were classified as refugees. This was double the number of refugee children admitted to Canada in 1987 (5,400).

1388. In 1986, 425,200 people under the age of 15 were identified as being members of a visible minority. These children made up 7 per cent of all children in Canada and 27 per cent of all people belonging to visible minorities.

1389. Children also make up a large share of the Aboriginal population in Canada. In 1991, 378,200 children less than age 15 were reported to have Aboriginal ethnic roots; these children made up 36 per cent of the total population with Aboriginal ancestry. The number of Aboriginal children increased 46 per cent between 1986 and 1991, such that Aboriginal children represented 7 per cent of all Canadian children in 1991, compared with 5 per cent in 1986.

1390. The vast majority of Canadian children live in some form of family setting. In 1991, 97 per cent of all children under the age of 15 and 95 per cent of never-married 15- to 17-year-olds were living with their parent(s). Another 2 per cent of children under the age of 15 and 4 per cent of never-married people aged 15 to 17 were living within a family, either with other relatives or with non-relatives only.

1391. A growing number of children are living with just one parent. In 1991, 14 per cent of children under age 15 and 16 per cent of those 15 to 17 years old lived in a lone-parent family. Of these children, 84 per cent lived with their mothers.

1392. A very small proportion of Canadian children do not live in a family household. In 1991, 16,800 children under the age of 15, or 0.3 per cent of all children in this age range, lived in a non-family household. In the same year, 0.7 per cent of 15- to 17-year-olds lived in a non-family household and 0.2 per cent lived alone.

1393. In 1992, there were 56,700 cases of missing children recorded by police organizations in Canada, down from 61,000 such cases in 1990. In the majority of these cases the child is eventually found. At the end of 1992, 1,500 children were still listed as missing from the home of their parents(s) or legal guardian(s).

1394. The large majority of missing children are runaways; parental abductions and cases classified as kidnappings or foul play make up only around 1 per cent of all missing children. Parental abductions and kidnappings accounted for around 10 per cent of cases still active at the end of 1992.

1395. The increased participation of mothers in the paid workforce has led to a growing need for affordable child care. By 1991, there were over 330,00 licensed or provincially-approved day-care spaces in Canada. While this was more than three times the number available in 1980, the number of spaces currently available still represents only a portion of all children actually in need of care. In 1988, organized and regulated child-care facilities were the main method of care for 24 per cent of children aged 3 to 5 and for 12 per cent of those less than 3 years old in care. Parents are the main source of child care, while unrelated caregivers, such as friends, neighbours, private babysitters, and relatives also play an important child-care role, especially for families with young children.

1396. Infant mortality has dropped sharply in Canada in the last several decades. In 1991, there were 6.4 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, less than one-fourth the rate in 1960.

1397. Infant mortality has also fallen dramatically among registered Indians. In 1990, there were 10.2 infant deaths per 1,000 live births among registered Indians living on reserves, down from 82.0 for every 1,000 live births in 1960. The current level of infant mortality among registered Indians, though, is still about 50 per cent higher than the rate for the overall population.

1398. Deaths are relatively rare among children aged 1 to 14. In 1991, there were 1,260 such deaths, or 24 per 100,000 children in this age range, less than half the figure in 1971.

1399. As of April, 1993, 79 Canadian children under age 15 had been diagnosed as having AIDS. Most of these cases occurred before 1990; only 22 cases were diagnosed in the period 1990-1993. The majority of AIDS cases among children (60) occurred as a result of perinatal transmission; of the remainder, 17 were passed through blood transfusions, while there was no identified cause for two cases.

1400. Suicides are relatively rare among Canadian children; however, suicide rates are considerably higher among young registered Indians than in the overall population. Between 1986 and 1990, there was an average of 37 suicides for every 100,000 registered Indian youth aged 10-19, 5 times greater than the figure among non-Indians.

1401. In 1991, 389,400 Canadian children under the age of 15, or 7 per cent of the total population in this age range, were reported to have some degree of disability.

1402. In 1991, 1.2 million children under the age of 18, or 18 per cent of all children, lived in families with incomes below Statistics Canada's Low Income Cut-offs. There was little change in the percentage of children living in low-income families during the 1980s.

1403. Children in lone-parent families are particularly likely to be in low-income situations. In 1991, 62 per cent of lone-parent families headed by non-elderly females with children under the age of 18 were classified as having low incomes.

1404. In the 1990-91 academic year, virtually 100 per cent of all children aged 6 to 15 were in school. At the same time, enrolment rates were 96 per cent for sixteen-year-olds and 80 per cent for those aged 17. Only 45 per cent of 19-years-old were enroled in an academic institution.

1405. At the other end of the age spectrum, almost all 5-year-olds ( 99 per cent in 1990-91), were enroled in either kindergarten or grade 1, while nearly half of 4-year-old children, 49 per cent in 1990-91, were in kindergarten.

1406. There has been marked improvement in the enrolment rates of registered Indians children in educational facilities. By 1991, 54 per cent of registered Indian children living on reserves were staying in school until Grades 12 or 13, compared with around 17 per cent in the 1970s and less than 5 per cent in the early 1960s.

1407. The ratio of students to teachers in elementary and secondary schools has fallen in recent years. In 1989-90, there was an average of 15.7 students in these schools for every full-time equivalent teacher, down from 17.2 in 1980-81. At the same time, expenditures per student on elementary and secondary education by all sources rose 8 per cent between 1985-86 and 1989-90.

1408. In 1991, police either charged or dealt with informally almost a quarter million young people involved in criminal incidents. That year, young people made up 25 per cent of all people charged with criminal offenses, up from 22 per cent in 1987.

1409. The majority of young offenders found guilty by youth courts receive non-custodial dispositions such as probation, fines, or community service orders. About one in three cases heard in youth court where there is a finding of guilt results in some form of custody.

1410. There was an average of 4,417 young people in custodial institutions each day in 1991-92. This was up 2 per cent from the daily average over the course of 1990-91 and 6 per cent from 1987-88.

1411. The majority of youth sent to a correctional institution receive relatively short sentences. In 1991-92, of the over 22,000 cases receiving a custodial disposition, 69 per cent received a sentence of less than 3 months, while 20 per cent were sentenced to 4 to 6 months and only 11 per cent were sentenced to more than 6 months in custody. The length of sentences received by incarcerated youth has also generally declined over the last few years.

1412. In 1991-92, 71 cases originally brought to youth court were transferred to an adult court. The majority of cases transferred to adult court involve older youth. Of these cases, 33 involved violent offenses including 8 murders, 8 sexual assaults, and 6 robberies. Another 30 cases were for property offenses, while the remainder were for other offenses.

1413. Children under age 15 are considerably less likely than adults to be victims of homicide. Children under age 12 are also generally less often victims of other violent crimes, whereas children aged 12 to 15 are at somewhat greater risk of becoming victims of violent crime than the general population.

Population characteristics

Children in the population

1414. In 1991, there were 5.7 million Canadians under the age of 15. While this figure was up about 300,000, or 6 per cent, from 1986, it was still almost 1 million less than in 1966 when the ranks of young Canadians were swelled by children born during the baby boom years. In fact, the increase in the number of children under age 15 in the last 5 years was the first such gain since the 1961-66 period. (Table 1).

1415. While the actual number of children under age 15 increased between 1986 and 1991, the share of the population accounted for by children continued to decline. In 1991, people under the age of 15 made up 20.9 per cent of the total population. This was down slightly from 1986, and well below figures recorded during and immediately after the baby boom, when children represented around a third of the population. (Chart 1)

1416. There has also been a decline in the population aged 15 to 17. In 1991, there were 1.1 million people in this age range, representing 4 per cent of the total population. Both figures were down from highs of 1.4 million and 6 per cent, respectively, in 1976. (Table 2)

1417. There were 6.8 million Canadians under the age of 18 in 1991. These young people made up 25 per cent of the total population. In comparison, in 1971, there were 7.7 million people under the age of 18, representing 36 per cent of the population.

Birth rates

1418. The decrease in the number of children can be traced, in large part, to a decline in the birth rate. In 1991, there were 14.9 births per 1,000 population in Canada. While the birth rate is currently slightly higher than that recorded in the late 1980s, it is still well below the rate in 1960, when there were 26.8 births per 1,000 population. (Chart 2)

Distribution of children by sex

1419. Boys make up a slight majority of children. In 1991, males accounted for 51.2 per cent of the population under the age of 15. This is in contrast to older age groups, beginning with those aged 25 to 34, where women outnumber men.

Rural-urban distribution

1420. Children are more likely than adults to be living in a rural area. In 1991, 27 per cent of children under the age of 15 lived in an area classified as rural, compared with 22 per cent of the population aged 15 and over.

Immigrant children

1421. Nearly one in five people immigrating to Canada is under the age of 15. In 1991, 42,200 children immigrated to Canada; they made up 18 per cent of all immigrants. The actual number of immigrant children in 1991 was down somewhat from 1990 when there were 45,500 immigrants under the age of 15. Current levels of child immigration are about 3 times higher than in the 1983-1985 period. (Table 3)

1422. The largest proportion of immigrant children are born in Asia. In 1991, 32 per cent of all immigrants under age 15 arriving in Canada were Asian-born, while 21 per cent were from European countries other than Great Britain and 14 per cent were born in the Middle East. Another 8 per cent were from Central America, 7 per cent were African, 6 per cent were West Indian, and 5 per cent were born in South America. Only about 4 per cent of immigrant children were born in either the United States or the United Kingdom. (Table 4)

1423. In recent years, there has been significant growth in the proportions of immigrant children born in the Middle East and Central America, while the shares from Asia and Europe have declined.

1424. Refugees make up a growing share of immigrant children. In 1991, 10,800 children immigrating to Canada were classified as refugees. This was double the number of refugee children admitted to Canada in 1987 (5,400). Refugees made up over a quarter (26 per cent) of all immigrants under age 15 in 1991, up from 18 per cent in 1986. (Table 5)

Children in visible minorities

1425. In 1986, there were 425,200 people under the age of 15 identified as being members of a visible minority. These children made up 7 per cent of all children in Canada; they also represented 27 per cent of the total population in the groups identified as visible minorities. (Table 6)

1426. Children made up an especially large proportion of the small Pacific Islander population (34 per cent), as well as around 30 per cent of both Southeast Asians and Koreans. They also represented 29 per cent of those with Indo-Pakistani ancestry, 28 per cent of Filipinos, and 27 per cent of those with Black, Latin American, or West Asian and Arab roots. At the same time, children made up somewhat smaller shares of the Chinese (24 per cent) and Japanese (23 per cent) communities in Canada.

Aboriginal children

1427. Children also make up a large share of the Aboriginal population. In 1991, there were 378,200 children less than age 15 who were reported to have Aboriginal roots; together, these children made up 36 per cent of the total population with Aboriginal ancestry. That year, children represented 39 per cent of the Inuit population, 37 per cent of those with Mtis origins, and 36 per cent of North American Indians.

1428. The current number of children with Aboriginal roots has grown substantially in the last few years. Between 1986 and 1991, the number of these children increased 46 per cent. As a result, Aboriginal children represented 7 per cent of all Canadian children in 1991, compared with 5 per cent in 1986.

Religious affiliation

1429. The majority of Canadian children are reported to be either Catholic or Protestant (1). In 1991, 46 per cent of the population under the age of 15 were affiliated with the Catholic church, while 33 per cent belonged to one of the many Protestant denominations. Both figures, though, were down from 1981 when 49 per cent of children were Catholic and 39 per cent were affiliated with a Protestant group (Table 7).

1430. In contrast, the percentage of children affiliated with non-Christian Eastern religions, while still small, more than doubled in the 1980s. In 1991, 3.3 per cent of people under the age of 15 belonged to one of these religions, up from 1.6 per cent in 1981. At the same time, the number of children affiliated with parareligious groups, such as the Church of Scientology or Native Indian or Inuit religions, almost tripled in the last decade. However, the 5,900 children who were reported as belonging to one of these groups in 1991 represented only a fraction (0.1 per cent) of all children.

1431. There has also been a particularly large increase in the share of children for whom no religious affiliation was reported. In 1991, almost 900,000 children under the age of 15, 15 per cent of the total, were classified as having no religious affiliation. The latter figure was up from 8 per cent in 1981. Children are considerably more likely to be included in the population with no religion than adults, 12 per cent of whom indicated they were not affiliated with any religious denomination or group in 1991.

Family perspectives

Children in families

1432. The vast majority of Canadian children live in some form of family setting. In 1991, 97 per cent of all children under the age of 15 and 95 per cent of never-married 15- to 17-year-olds were living with their parent(s). Another 2 per cent of children under the age of 15 and 4 per cent of never-married people aged 15 to 17 were living within a family, either with other relatives or with non-relatives only (Table 8).

1433. As well, a small number of 15- to 17-year-olds, around 7,700, or 0.7 per cent of the total population in this age range in 1991, were either married or living in a common-law relationship. Females made up 87 per cent of this group.

1434. A growing number of children are living with just one parent. In 1991, 782,200 children under the age of 15, 14 per cent of the total, were members of a lone-parent family. The latter figure was up from 9 per cent in 1976 and 12 per cent in 1986. An even higher percentage of 15- to 17-year-olds, 16 per cent in 1991, lived in a lone-parent family, a figure virtually unchanged from 1986.

1435. In 1991, 84 per cent of all lone-parent family children under age 18 lived with their mothers.

Divorce and children

1436. Women head the majority of lone-parent families, in part, because courts usually grant them custody of the children in divorce settlements. In 1990, mothers were granted sole custody of 73 per cent of all children involved in divorces, while in 14 per cent of cases the parents were awarded joint custody. Fathers received sole custody in 12 per cent of cases (Table 9).

1437. The actual number of children involved in court custody arrangements, however, has fallen in recent years, from over 65,000 in 1982 to 48,500 in 1990.

Children not in families

1438. Only 16,800 children under the age of 15, or 0.3 per cent of all children in this age range, lived in a non-family household in 1991. Both figures were down slightly from 1986.

1439. The vast majority of children (13,500) living in a non-family household in 1991 lived in a collective household such as a work or military camp or Hutterite colony. In the year time, around 2,000 lived in an institutional setting such as a hospital or psychiatric facility, while 1,300 lived in an orphanage or children's home. The number of children living in either a hospital or psychiatric institution or an orphanage or children's home declined by around 25 per cent between 1986 and 1991, while the number in a collective household rose 9 per cent (Chart 3).

1440. Those 15 to 17 years old are more likely than their younger counterparts to not live in a family, although the percentage is very small: in 1991, 0.7 per cent of those aged 15 to 17 lived in a non-family household and 0.2 per cent lived alone.

1441. A relatively large percentage of registered Indian children living on reserves have been placed away from parental care in order to protect them from neglect, abuse or both. In 1991-92, 4 per cent of Indian children aged 16 or less and living on a reserve were cared for in this manner, down from over 6 per cent in the latter part of the 1970s (Table 27).

Missing children

1442. Police recorded 56,700 cases of missing children in Canada in 1992. This figure is down from 1990, when over 61,000 such cases were reported (Chart 4).

1443. In the majority of these cases the child is eventually found. For example, at the end of 1992, 1,500 children2 were still listed as missing from the home of their parents(s) or legal guardian(s). This figure is also down from a high of over 2,000 in 1991 (Chart 5).

1444. The large majority of missing children are runaways. In 1992, 93 per cent of all reported cases of missing children in which the circumstances of the disappearance were known were runaways (Table 10).

1445. Of the remaining cases, 1.4 per cent were either accident victims whose bodies had not been recovered or children presumed to have wandered off or been lost, while 0.8 per cent were abducted by a parent and 0.2 per cent were classified as victims of kidnappings or foul play.

1446. The number of cases involving abduction by a parent, kidnapping or foul play has fallen in recent years. For example, there were 378 cases of parental abduction in 1992, down from 432 in 1990. In the same period, the number of cases identified as kidnappings or foul play fell from 84 to 70.

1447. Parental abductions and kidnappings, though, make up a greater share of cases still active at any one time. Of cases still active at the end of 1992, for which the cause of the disappearance was known, 7 per cent involved parental abductions and 3 per cent were kidnappings.

1448. The large majority of cases active at any one time, however, involve runaways. In fact, 73 per cent of cases still outstanding at the end of 1992 were runaways. In a further 11 per cent of these cases the missing child was believed either to have wandered off and been lost or to have been involved in an accident in which the body was not found.

1449. In a large number of cases of missing children there is insufficient evidence or information to allow police to establish the probable cause of the disappearance. In 1992, there were over 11,000 such cases, representing more than a quarter of all reported cases of missing children. The police were also not able to identify the cause of disappearance in 18 per cent of those cases still active at the end of 1992.

1450. In addition, in 1991, there were a total of 246 cases of missing children in other countries in which assistance was requested from Canadian authorities because it was believed there was a possibility that the children could be in Canada.

Children with working mothers

1451. A growing proportion of children have mothers employed in the paid workforce. In 1992, 62 per cent of women with at least one child under age 16 were employed. This was up from 50 per cent in 1981 (Table 11).

1452. Women with very young children are less likely than other mothers to be employed. Still, 54 per cent of women with children less than age 3 worked outside the home in 1992, as did 59 per cent of those whose youngest child was aged 3 to 5. At the same time, 68 per cent of women whose youngest child was aged 6 to 15 were employed.

Day care

1453. The increased participation of mothers in the paid workforce has led to a growing need for affordable child care. According to the National Child Care Study3, 1.1 million children of pre-school age and 1.6 million school-aged children required some form of child care in the fall of 1988 in order to accommodate the work or study schedules of their parent(s).

1454. By 1991, there were over 330,00 licensed or provincially approved day care spaces in Canada (Table 12). While this was more than three times the number of such spaces available in 1980, the number of spaces currently available still represents only a portion of all children actually in need of care.

1455. In 1988, organized and regulated child care facilities functioned as the main method of care for only 11 per cent of all children under age 13 whose parent(s) worked or studied. Not surprisingly, organized care is used most frequently by families with pre-school-aged children. In 1988, nearly one-quarter (24 per cent) of children aged 3 to 5 and 12 per cent of those less than 3 years old were cared for by these services. In contrast, the figure was just 5 per cent for children aged 6 to 12 (Table 13).

1456. In 1988, parents themselves were the main source of care for 28 per cent of children aged 12 and under. In 9 per cent of cases, the employed parent most responsible for child care (usually the mother) looked after the child while working, while one child in five was cared for by that parent's partner to cover work or study hours. In many cases, parents must adjust their work hours to provide this care.

1457. Unrelated caregivers, such as friends, neighbours, or private babysitters, are also an important source of child care services. In 1988, 23 per cent of children under age 13 were cared for in such an arrangement. Unrelated caregivers are especially important for those with pre-school-aged children. This type of informal arrangement was the main source of care for 37 per cent of children under age 3 and 31 per cent of those aged 3 to 5. In contrast, it was the main form of care for 16 per cent of children aged 6 to 12.

1458. Relatives also play an important child-care role for families with very young children. Reliance on a relative was the main child-care arrangement for 24 per cent of children under age 3 and 16 per cent of those aged 3 to 5 years. In comparison, it was the main source of care for 11 per cent of children aged 6 to 12.

1459. A large percentage of school-aged children in need of care (generally before or after school) are either responsible for their own care, are looked after by a sibling, or have no formal arrangement made for their care. Indeed, in 1988, of the 39 per cent of all children aged 6 to 12 who required care in order to accommodate parental work or study schedules, 23 per cent were either looked after by a sibling or looked after themselves, while no formal arrangements outside of school were necessary for the remaining 16 per cent4.

Maternity benefits

1460. Another important issue facing many working women and their children is the availability of paid maternity leave. In 1991, there were 164,000 maternity absences from work in Canada, almost double the number for 1980 (87,000). There were 3.9 maternity absences for every 100 employed women aged 15 to 44 in 1991, up from 2.7 per cent in 1980 (Table 14).

1461. The large majority of maternity absences are paid. In 1991, 89 per cent of mothers on maternity leave received some form of monetary compensation. This was up from 1980, when about three-quarters (77 per cent) of maternity absences were compensated. However, the 1991 figure was also down slightly from 1986 and 1987 when the incidence of paid maternity absences had risen to 92 per cent.

Children's health

Infant Mortality

1462. Infant mortality has dropped sharply in Canada in the last several decades. In 1991, there were 6.4 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, less than one-fourth the rate in 1960 when there were 27.3 such deaths for every 1,000 live births (Table 15).

1463. Infant mortality is somewhat higher among males than females. In 1991, there were 6.9 deaths of boys under 1 year of age for every 1,000 live male births, compared with 5.8 among females.

1464. Infant mortality has also fallen dramatically among registered Indians, though the incidence of infant mortality remains higher in this group than in the overall population. In 1990, there were 10.2 infant deaths per 1,000 live births among registered Indians living on reserves, down from 82.0 for every 1,000 live births in 1960 (Table 27). The current level of infant mortality among registered Indians, however, is still 50 per cent higher than the rate for the overall population.

1465. Perinatal conditions, such as birth trauma and birth asphyxia, and congenital anomalies, including anencephalus and spina bifida, are the primary causes of infant deaths. These two conditions accounted for 70 per cent of all infant deaths in 1991. Sudden infant death syndrome was identified as the cause in a further 14 per cent of infant deaths (Table 16).

1466. The actual incidence of deaths due to both perinatal conditions and congenital anomalies has fallen dramatically in the last two decades. In 1991, there were 2.5 infant deaths per 1,000 live births resulting from perinatal conditions, compared with 9.1 in 1971. In the same period, the number of infant deaths from congenital anomalies fell 46 per cent, from 3.7 per 1,000 live births in 1971 to 2.0 in 1991.

1467. There are currently few infant deaths caused by contagious and infectious diseases which historically killed many children. For example, in 1991, there were no reported infant deaths caused by measles, rubella, tuberculosis, polio, or diphtheria. There were 27 infant deaths due to infectious and parasitic diseases, including 11 from septicaemia and 8 from meningococcal infections. There were also 34 infant deaths from pneumonia and influenza.

Mortality among older children

1468. Deaths are relatively rare among children aged 1 to 14. In 1991, there were 1,260 such deaths, or 24 per 100,000 children in this age range (Table 17). The latter figure is less than half what it was in 1971 when there were 53 deaths per 100,000 children aged 1 to 14.

1469. Children aged 1 to 4 are somewhat more at risk than older children. In 1991, there were 33 deaths per 100,000 children age 1 to 4, compared to 19 for those aged 5 to 9 and 22 among those aged 10 to 14. All these figures, though, are less than half what they had been in 1971.

1470. In all these age groups, death rates are somewhat higher among boys than girls. For example, among those aged 1 to 4 there were 38 deaths per 100,000 boys versus 27 among girls. For those aged 5 to 9, the figures were 21 deaths per 100,000 boys and 17 for girls. Among those aged 10 to 14, there were 27 deaths per 100,000 boys, compared with 17 among girls.

1471. Accidents and other adverse effects account for the largest share of deaths of children aged 1 to 14. In 1991, 43 per cent of all deaths of children in this age range were attributed to accidents or other adverse effects. At the same time, 13 per cent were due to cancer and 10 per cent to congenital anomalies (Table 17).

1472. As with infants, the actual incidence of deaths among children as a result of these factors has declined sharply since 1971. For example, there were 10 deaths per 100,000 children aged 1 to 14 as a result of accidents or adverse effects in 1991, compared with 27 in 1971. At the same time, the figures for congenital anomalies and cancer were both less than half what they had been two decades ago (Chart 6).

1473. Causes of death among children aged 1 to 14 vary with age. For example, accidents and cancer both account for greater proportions of deaths of children aged 5 to 9 and 10 to 14 than they do among those aged 1 to 4, whereas congenital anomalies account for a greater share of deaths in the younger age group.

1474. As with infants, deaths from diseases which historically killed many children are currently very rare among those aged 1 to 14. For example, in 1991, there were no deaths reported to have been caused by tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, or whooping cough. There were 38 deaths due to infectious and parasitic diseases among children aged 1 to 14, including 13 from meningococcal infections and 4 from septicaemia. There were also 28 deaths among children in this age range from pneumonia and influenza and 5 from bronchitis.

Life expectancy

1475. As a result of the lower mortality rates among females than among males at all ages, females generally outlive males by a wide margin. For example, girls born in the mid-1980s had a life expectancy of 79.7 years, compared with 73.0 years for males.

1476. Both figures were up from 1976 when females had a life expectancy of 77.4 years and males 70.2 years. As a result, the life expectancy of boys born in 1986 was 2.8 years longer than it had been in 1976, while girls gained 2.3 years in the same period.

Children and AIDS

1477. As of April, 1993, 79 Canadian children under age 15 had been diagnosed as having AIDS. Most of these cases occurred before 1990; in fact, a total of only 22 cases was diagnosed in the period 1990-1993 (Table 18).

1478. The majority of AIDS cases among children (60) occurred as a result of perinatal transmission; of the remainder, 17 were passed through blood transfusions, while there was no identified risk for two cases.

Suicide

1479. Suicides are relatively rare among Canadian children. In 1991, there was only one reported suicide among children under age 10. This represented a rate of just 0.03 suicides per 100,000 children in this age range.

1480. In the same year, there were 2 suicides per 100,000 boys aged 10 to 14 and 1 for every 100,000 girls in this age range. These figures, however, were well below those for older teenagers. For example, in 1991, there were 23 suicides for every 100,000 males aged 15 to 19 and 4 among comparable females.

1481. Suicide rates are considerably higher among young registered Indians than in the overall population. Between 1986 and 1990, there was an average of 1 suicide per 100,000 registered Indian children under age 10, compared with none among the rest of the population in the same age range. In the same period, the suicide rate among registered Indian youth aged 10 to 19, at an average of 37 per 100,000 population, was 5 times greater than the figure among comparable segments of the rest of the population.

Low birthweight

1482. There has been a steady decline in the incidence of low birthweight births over the past several decades. In 1991, 5.5 per cent of all babies weighed less than 2,500 grams, down from 6.0 per cent in 1980 and 7.8 per cent in 1970.

Health risks

1483. There are few national data currently available describing the tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use of children. However, data from studies conducted in Ontario, Canada's largest province, indicate that there have been substantial declines in the usage of these stimulants among those aged 13 to 15 in that province.

1484. In 1991, almost 1 in 5 (19 per cent) Ontario teenagers aged 14 to 15 and 6 per cent of 13-year-olds reported tobacco use at least once during the year. Both figures were down substantially from highs reported in 1979, when 37 per cent of those aged 14 to 15 and 19 per cent of 13-year-olds smoked at least once during the year (Table 19).

1485. Relatively large shares of those aged 13 to 15 in Ontario report using alcohol. In 1991, over half (55 per cent) of those aged 14 to 15 reported using alcohol at least once during the previous year. This figure was down from around 75 per cent in the late 1970s. Among 13-year-olds, 30 per cent consumed alcohol at least once in 1991. However, this was only about half the percentage that reported alcohol use in the late 1970s.

1486. There have also been sharp declines in the use of drugs among Ontario 13- to 15-year-olds in the last decade or so. Drug usage in this age group is currently quite rare. Among those aged 14 to 15, for example, 6 per cent used cannabis at least once in 1991, down from 28 per cent in 1979. In the same year, 2 per cent reported using LSD, barbiturates for non-medicinal purposes, or solvents other than glue in 1991, while 1 per cent reported using cocaine, heroin, glue, or speed. All these figures have fallen since the late 1970s.

1487. Drug usage is also very rare among 13-year-olds. Only around 2 per cent of these children reported using solvents other than glue in 1991, while the percentage using various other drugs was 1 per cent or less. Again, these figures were all down from the late 1970s when as many as 12 per cent of 13-year-olds used solvents other than glue, 10 per cent used cannabis, 7 per cent used glue, and 4 per cent used cocaine or LSD.

1488. At the same time, a small but growing percentage of those aged 13 to 15 are using steroids. In 1991, 2.0 per cent of those age 14 to 15 and 1.2 per cent of 13-year-olds reported they had used steroids at least once during their lifetime. These figures were up from 1.4 per cent for those aged 14 to 15 and 0.3 per cent of those aged 13 in 1989.

Children having children

1489. Each year, a small number of children in Canada give birth to their own children. In 1991, there were a total of 261 births to girls under the age of 15; this represented 7.3 such births for every 10,000 girls aged 13 to 14, up from 6.0 in 1989.

1490. In the same year, there were 146 births for every 10,000 young women aged 15 to 17 in 1991, up from 137 in 1981. In the large majority of cases these young mothers were single.

Children and abortions

1491. In 1991, there were 333 therapeutic abortions performed on children under age 15. This represented 9.3 abortions for every 10,000 girls aged 13 to 14. The latter figure was down from the 1986-1989 period when there was an average of 11.3 abortions per 10,000 girls aged 13 to 14. It was also down from the late 1970s and early 1980s when there were over 14 abortions per 10,000 girls in this age range.

1492. At the same time, there were 97 abortions for every 10,000 girls aged 15 to 17 in 1991. This was down from a high of 128 recorded in 1979.

Children with disabilities

1493. In 1991, 389,400 Canadian children under the age of 15, 7 per cent of the total population in this age range, were reported to have some degree of disability5. Children, however, are the least likely age group to have some form of disability. Within the adult population, for example, disability rates were 8 per cent for those aged 15 to 34, 14 per cent for those aged 35 to 54, 27 per cent among those aged 55 to 64, and 46 per cent for those aged 65 and over.

1494. Among children, disability rates increase with age. In 1991, 5 per cent of children under age 5 were reported to have a disability, compared with 7 per cent of children aged 5 to 9 and 9 per cent for those aged 10 to 14. Reported disability rates were also somewhat higher for boys (8 per cent) under age 15 than for girls (6 per cent) in this age range.

1495. Very few children have severe disabilities. In 1991, 3 per cent of children under age 15 with disabilities had a severe disability. This compared with 15 per cent of disabled people aged 15 to 64 and 32 per cent of those aged 65 and over. In the same year, 8 per cent of disabled children had a moderate disability, while 90 per cent had a disability which was considered to be mild.

1496. The vast majority of disabled children live in private households. For example, in 19866, an estimated 2,400 children with disabilities, less than 1 per cent of all disabled children, lived in an institution.

1497. Of children with a disability living in a private household in 1986, 36 per cent attended either special schools or special classes within regular schools, while 6 per cent were not attending school at all. In addition, of children with a disability in this age range, 6 per cent began their first year of school late, 17 per cent had their schooling interrupted for long periods, and 32 per cent had taken longer than other children to reach comparable levels of education (Table 20).

1498. Also in 1986, 31 per cent of those aged 5 to 14 with a disability living in a private household took some kind of medication more than once per week. In 38 per cent of cases, their families reported having expenses related to the disability which were not reimbursed.

Economic well-being

Low income

1499. In 1991, 1.2 million children under the age of 18, 18 per cent of all children, lived in a family with income below Statistics Canada's Low Income Cut-offs7. (Table 21) This compared with 14 per cent of the population aged 18 to 64 and 20 per cent of people aged 65 and over.

1500. While children are still somewhat less likely than elderly Canadians to be classified in the low-income population, the incidence of low income among people aged 65 and over declined dramatically during the 1980s, whereas there was little change in the percentage of children living in low-income families in the same period (Chart 7). If these trends continue, children could soon have a higher rate of low income than their elderly counterparts.

Low income by family type

1501. Children in lone-parent families are particularly likely to have low income. In 1991, 62 per cent of lone-parent families which were headed by non-elderly females, and with children under the age of 18, were classified as having low incomes. These families, which made up just 13 per cent of all non-elderly family units with children, accounted for 45 per cent of all non-elderly, low-income families with children (Table 21).

1502. In the same year, roughly one in four (24 per cent) non-elderly, lone-parent families with a male head and 11 per cent of comparable two-parent families with children also had low incomes.

1503. Two-parent families, however, make up the largest share of all non-elderly families with children with low incomes. In 1991, these families, which accounted for 86 per cent of all non-elderly families with children, made up 53 per cent of families with incomes below the Low Income Cut-offs.

Income from transfer payments

1504. Government transfer payments such as social welfare, unemployment insurance, family allowances, child tax credits, and public pensions make up an important share of the income of families with children, especially lone-parent families whose head is female. In 1991, transfer payments made up 33 per cent of the income of all lone-parent families headed by non-elderly females. Transfer payments also made up 12 per cent of the income of comparable male-headed lone-parent families and 8 per cent of that of non-elderly, two-parent families with children.

Child Tax Credits

1505. The Federal Child Tax Credit program is specifically designed to redistribute income to families with children. In 1988-89, 2.3 million families, representing 4.7 million children, received this benefit. The program covered 71 per cent of all children in 1988-89, down from 78 per cent in 1982-83. The total benefits paid in this program in 1988-89, almost $2 billion, were considerably higher than in previous years once the effects of inflation were accounted for (Table 22).

Income from other sources

1506. Lone-parent families headed by females are more dependent than other families on income from sources such as private pensions, scholarships, and alimony or child support or both. In 1991, 7 per cent of the income of non-elderly, lone-parent families headed by women, about $1,500 per family, was classified as other income. In comparison, other income represented only 3 per cent of the income of similar male-headed, lone-parent families and just 1 per cent of that of non-elderly, two-parent families with children.

Spousal and child support

1507. Spousal and child support is one of the major public policy concerns related to lone-parent families headed by women. Figures from the 1990 General Social Survey indicated, for example, that just 19 per cent of lone-parent families headed by women received financial support from anyone outside their household. In another study, based on 1990 tax data8, approximately 170,000 female lone parents with children under age 18 (about one in three of all comparable women) reported on their tax returns that they had received either spousal or child support payments. These payments, though, made up an important component of the income of those families receiving them. In 1990, recipient families received an average of $4,800 in alimony; this represented 18 per cent of their total income.

Crowding

1508. Few Canadian children live in crowded accommodations. In 1992, just 3 per cent of households with children under 18 years of age had more than one person per room, while 38 per cent of these households averaged 2 or more rooms per person.

Basic household amenities

1509. The large majority of Canadian households with children have basic household amenities. In 1992, virtually 100 per cent of all households with children had flush toilets and bath facilities and 99 per cent had a telephone and at least one television set. In the same year, 92 per cent owned at least one vehicle. Over half of all households with children had two or more colour television sets or two or more vehicles or two or more or both. A growing share of households with children, 29 per cent in 1992, also had a home computer.

Safety features

1510. In 1992, 93 per cent of households with children under 18 years of age had a smoke detector and 57 per cent had a portable fire extinguisher.

Education

Enrolment rates

1511. In the 1990-91 academic year, virtually 100 per cent of all children aged 6 to 15 were in school. In the same year enrolment rates were 96 per cent for 16-year-olds and 80 per cent for those aged 179. Fewer than half of Canadians teenagers, however, are still in school by age 19. In 1990-91, just 45 per cent of 19-year-olds were enroled in an academic institution.

1512. At the other end of the age spectrum, almost all 5-year-olds (99 per cent in 1990-91) are enroled in either kindergarten or grade 1, while nearly half of 4-year-old children (49 per cent in 1990-91) are in kindergarten. Both figures were up from 1980-81, when 92 per cent of 5-year-olds and 36 per cent of 4-year-olds were enroled in these programs.

Elementary and secondary school enrolment

1513. Because almost all children are enroled in school, trends in enrolment in elementary10 and secondary schools reflect changes in the overall number of children. In the 1990-91 academic year, 5.1 million children were enroled in these schools. While this figure has increased by over 200,000 since the mid-1980s, it was still three-quarters of a million below peak totals recorded in the early 1970s, when Canadian schools were filled by children born during the baby boom (Table 23).

1514. In 1990-91, almost a quarter of a million (240,000) elementary and secondary students, 4.7 per cent of the total, were enroled in private schools. While the latter figure is double the rate recorded in the early 1970s, it changed little over the course of the 1980s.

Education of registered Indian children

1515. There has been marked improvement in the enrolment rates of registered Indian children in educational facilities. Total enrolment in elementary and secondary schools (including kindergarten) on reserves in 1991 represented 96 per cent of the reserve population aged 4 to 18. This was up from about 80 per cent in the mid-1970s. As a result, by 1991, 54 per cent of registered Indian children living on reserves were staying in school until Grades 12 or 13, compared to about 17 per cent in the 1970s and less than 5 per cent in the early 1960s (Table 27).

Student/teacher ratio

1516. The ratio of students to teachers in elementary and secondary schools has fallen in recent years. In 1989-90, there was an average of 15.7 students in these schools for every full-time equivalent teacher, down from 17.2 in 1980-81 (Table 23).

Education expenditures

1517. In 1989-90, total expenditures on elementary and secondary education by all sources amounted to $28.5 billion, or $5,800 per student. This figure was up 8 per cent from 1985-86, once the effects of inflation as represented by changes in the Consumer Price Index were accounted for.

Minority-language education

1518. In 1989-90, 5 per cent of all children in Canadian schools were enroled in a minority-language program, that is English in Quebec and French in all other provinces.

1519. In the same period, the majority of students in public schools, 63 per cent in Quebec and 56 per cent in all other provinces in 1990-91, participate in second language programs. A small percentage of these students are enroled in immersion programs. In 1989-90, 7 per cent of the eligible school population was enroled in French immersion programs. The remainder studied the second language as one of their regular courses.

Television viewing

1520. Both young children and teenagers are generally watching less television than they did several years ago. In 1991, people aged 12 to 17 spent an average of 18.4 hours per week watching television, down from 20.5 hours in 1985. In the same period, total viewing time declined from 21.3 hours per week to 18.8 hours among children aged 2 to 11 (Table 24).

1521. The majority of children's television viewing time is devoted to drama, comedy, or variety and game shows. In 1991, these programs accounted for 68 per cent of the viewing time of people aged 12 to 17 and 60 per cent of that of children aged 2 to 11. In contrast, only 20 per cent of the viewing time of children aged 2 to 11 and 14 per cent of that of those aged 12 to 17 was devoted to news/public affairs or instructional television. About 2 per cent of the total viewing time of teenagers was devoted to educational or instructional programming.

Crime and justice

Young people and the police

1522. In 1991, police either charged or informally dealt with almost a quarter of a million young people involved in criminal incidents. That year, young people under the age of 18 made up 25 per cent of all people charged with criminal offenses11. This figure was up from 22 per cent in 1987 (Table 25).

1523. In 1991, 54 people under the age of 18 were charged with homicide. These young people accounted for 9 per cent of all people identified as the accused in homicide incidents. In the same year, young people accounted for 21 per cent of all persons charged with sexual assaults. People under the age of 18 made up 18 per cent of all people charged with violent offenses in 1991, up from 15 per cent in 1987 and 1988.

1524. Young people account for a greater proportion of those charged with property crimes. In 1991, young persons made up 39 per cent of those charged with these offenses, compared with 36 per cent in both 1987 and 1988.

1525. In contrast, the proportion of persons accused of drug crimes accounted for by young people has declined in recent years. In 1991, 7 per cent of those charged with drug offenses were under age 18, down from almost 10 per cent in 1987 and 1988. The absolute number of young people either charged with drug offenses or dealt with informally in such incidents fell from over 4,000 in 1987 to 3,249 in 1991.

1526. The majority of cases of young people charged with drug offenses, including those dealt with informally, have to do with possession of cannabis. In 1991, young people involved in this type of crime made up 57 per cent of all young persons connected with drug-related crimes. Among adults, the comparable figure is 39 per cent.

1527. In 1991, 500 young persons were either charged or informally dealt with in prostitution-related offenses. This represented 4 per cent of all persons charged with prostitution offenses.

Youth courts

1528. In 1991-92, 116,400 cases were heard in youth courts in Canada. When changes in reporting jurisdictions12 are taken into account, this represented increases of 15 per cent from 1990-91 and 35 per cent from 1986-87.

1529. The majority of cases heard by youth courts involve older youth. In 1991-92, 53 per cent of cases involved teenagers aged 16 or over. At the same time, 21 per cent of cases involved 15-year-olds, while the figures were 14 per cent for those aged 14, 7 per cent for 13-year-olds and 3 per cent for 12-year-olds. There were also 39 cases, a tiny fraction of the total, which involved children under the age of 12, who are normally dealt with under provincial child welfare legislation.

1530. The large majority of cases heard in youth court involve males. In 1991-92, 82 per cent of all cases involved boys.

1531. Most cases heard in youth court result in guilty verdicts. In 1991-92, 65 per cent of those accused were found guilty.

1532. The majority of cases heard in youth court with a finding of guilt result in non-custodial dispositions. Probation was the most serious disposition in 42 per cent of all cases with a guilty verdict in 1991-92, while 8 per cent resulted in a fine and 13 per cent in a community service order. Another 4 per cent of guilty cases resulted in an absolute discharge, while the remainder received other dispositions ranging from compensation or restitution to apologies, essays, and counselling programs. There was little variation in the disposition of these cases between 1986-87 and 1991-92.

1533. Roughly one in three cases heard in youth court where there is a finding of guilt results in some form of custody. In 1991-92, 13 per cent of these cases resulted in orders of secure detention, while another 17 per cent resulted in open custody orders to facilities such as a community residential centre, group home, child care institution, or wilderness camp.

Young people in custody

1534. An average of 4,417 young people were in custodial institutions each day in 1991-92. This was up 2 per cent from the daily average over the course of 1990-91 and 6 per cent from the figure in 1987-88 (Table 26).

1535. The largest proportion of incarcerated youth are in open custody. In 1991-92, 44 per cent of youth in an institution were in open custody, while 37 per cent were in secure custody. The remaining 19 per cent were in remand or temporary detention awaiting trial.

1536. The majority of youth sent to a correctional institution receive relatively short sentences. In 1991-92, of the over 22,000 cases receiving a custodial disposition, 69 per cent received a sentence of 3 months or less: 23 per cent were for less than a month, while 46 per cent received a sentence of 1 to 3 months. A further 20 per cent were sentenced to 4 to 6 months, while 11 per cent were sentenced to more than 6 months in custody.

1537. The length of sentences received by incarcerated youth has generally declined over the last few years. Excluding Ontario, the proportion of cases receiving a custodial disposition of 3 months or less increased from 55 per cent in 1986-87 to 66 per cent in 1991-92. In contrast, the proportion receiving a custodial disposition of more than six months fell from 19 per cent in 1986-87 to 12 per cent in 1991-92. The trend toward shorter terms applied to both open and secure custody.

Transfers to adult court

1538. Each year, a small number of cases brought before youth court are transferred to adult courts. In 1991-92, 71 such cases were transferred to an adult court.

1539. The majority of cases transferred to an adult court involve older youth. In 1991-92, there were 52 such cases involving youth aged 17 or over and 13 in which the accused was aged 16. There were only 6 cases involving youth aged 14 or 15 transferred to an adult court.

1540. Of the 71 youth court cases transferred to an adult court in 1991-92, 33 involved violent offenses; these included 8 murder cases, 8 sexual assaults, and 6 robberies. Another 30 cases were for property offenses, while the remainder were for other offenses.

Children as victims of homicide

1541. Children are considerably less likely than adults to be victims of homicide. In 1990, there was about 1 murder per 100,000 children among both those under age 12 and those aged 12 to 15. These figures compared to rates of around 3 murders per 100,000 population for people aged 16 to 19 and 20 and over.

1542. Among children, the very young are the most likely to be murdered. Almost one-third of all homicide victims under the age of 12 murdered between 1980 and 1989 had not reached their first birthday and over 70 per cent were killed before the age of five.

1543. Child homicide victims are usually related to their assailant; 77 per cent of all children under age 12 murdered between 1980 and 1989 were killed by a relative. Approximately two-thirds were killed by a parent: roughly a third each by mothers and fathers, while 10 per cent were killed by other relatives, including step- or foster parents. Of the remaining victims, 13 per cent were killed by an unrelated acquaintance and around one in ten was killed by a stranger.

Children as victims of other violent crime

1544. Children under age 12 are generally less likely to be victims of violent crimes other than homicide, whereas children aged 12 to 15 are at somewhat greater risk of becoming victims of these crimes than the general population. Of victims of violent crimes reported to Statistics Canada between 1988 and 199113, 10 per cent were children aged 12 to 15, double the percentage of this group in the population. In contrast, children under age 12 made up 9 per cent of the victims of violent crime, compared to 17 per cent of the total population.

1545. Young people comprise a much larger proportion of victims of sexual assault than they do for other violent offenses. Children under aged 12 made up 42 per cent of victims of sexual assault reported in the 1988-91 period, while those aged 12 to 15 accounted for 29 per cent. In contrast, children under age 12 made up just 4 per cent of victims of other violent crimes, while the figure for young teenagers was 7 per cent.

1546. Young victims of violent crimes are more likely than older people to be victimized by a relative or acquaintance. Young people are also more likely than older persons to be the victims of other immediate family members, especially parents.

Notes:

(1) In the vast majority of cases the religious affiliation of children will be the same as that reported by their parent(s).

(2) Includes cases still active from previous years.

(3) Source: Lero, D.S., M. Shields, H. Goelman, A.R. Pence, and L.M. Brockman, Canadian National Child Care Study: Introductory Report, Statistics Canada, Catalogue 89-526.

(4) Included in this category are children who, during the reference week, were in school all the time the parent worked or studied, as well as children whose non-school hours were spent in transit to and from school, in the hospital, or in sports, music lessons or activities not included as child care.

(5) These data are from the 1991 Health and Activity Limitation Survey which used the World Health Organizations' definition of a disability, that is, any restriction or lack (resulting from impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being.

(6) Children in institutions were not included in the 1991 Health and Activity Limitation Survey.

(7) Families that spend on average 56.2 per cent or more of their income on food, shelter, and clothing are considered to have low incomes.

(8) Source: Galarneau, Diane, "Alimony and Child Support," in Canadian Social Trends, No. 28, Spring 1993, Statistics Canada, Catalogue 11-008E.

(9) Includes those enroled in a post-secondary educational institution.

(10) Includes kindergarten.

(11) References to the total number of people charged with criminal offenses include adults and youth charged as well as youth dealt with informally.

(12) Data for Ontario were not included in the total prior to 1991-92; as well, only partial data were available for British Columbia in 1991-92.

(13) National data on victimization, comparable to that for homicide, are not currently available in Canada. The data in this section are based on reports of selected violent crimes from 13 police departments between 1988 and 1991. As such, the data are not a representative sample and therefore are not indicative of any national trends.