National Children's Day 2005

Toronto, ON - To mark National Child Day on November 20th, a new Ipsos Reid survey conducted on behalf of Save the Children Canada reveals that while most Canadians believe children are faring well in Canada, a significant minority do not.

Six in ten (61%) Canadians agree that "children's rights are being fully realized in Canada," but 37% disagree with this statement. While 58% agree that "the Canadian government adequately represents and deals with various issues facing children, in the areas of education, poverty labour, violence, development, and protection," 40% disagree. And, the six in ten (61%) Canadians who agree that "Canada is equipped to ensure the safety and security of children during an emergency such as the Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and the earthquake in Pakistan" is overshadowed by the full third (34%) who disagree that Canada is equipped to do so.

Moreover, only 50% of Canadians feel "there is adequate public knowledge and information available to truly understand how children are faring in Canada." It comes as no surprise then that 82% of Canadians think "Canada needs a national ombudsperson to deal specifically with children and youth issues."

The survey also indicates that three in four (77%) Canadians believe "Children's Rights should be in addition to and distinct from human Rights." However, while two in three (64%) Canadians have heard of the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights, just 46% are aware of the UN's Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Finally, 96% of Canadians agree that "children need play time as much as they need education and nurturing" but four in ten (40%) Canadians don't realize that the right to play, the right to education, the right to health and the right to protection are all ranked equally in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid/Save the Children Canada poll conducted from November 1 to 3, 2005. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1002 adult Canadians was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within ±3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data.

Please open attached files to view full press release and detailed tables.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid
416.324.2900
[email protected]

Ipsos Reid

Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader and the country's leading provider of public opinion research. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos-Reid employs more than 300 researcher professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in Canada, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and on-line panels. Ipsos Reid's Canadian marketing research and public affairs practices are staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, offering the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada - including the Ipsos Trend Report, the leading source of public opinion in the country - all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

Ipsos

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