Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to remind everyone that today is Universal Children's Day. This year is special, because it also marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Hon. members will recall that 20 years ago, on November 24, the House of Commons adopted a motion that called for completely eliminating child poverty by the year 2000. We all know that successive federal governments have made too little progress to date toward meeting that goal. According to a UNICEF report, child poverty has even risen by 20%, and Canada has the highest rate of juvenile detention among comparable industrialized nations.
I want to recognize the phenomenal work the community organizations in my riding and throughout Quebec are doing, despite extremely limited resources. These organizations certainly understand that children are the greatest treasure the Quebec nation possesses.