Mr. Speaker, I am sad to report that UNICEF's report card released on April 10 places Canada 17th out of 29 for overall well-being, but drops Canada to 24th when it comes to children.
On material well-being, 14% of Canadian children live below the poverty line, ranking us 21st. Most disturbing is Canada's 27th rank on health and safety, due mostly to the overall immunization rate, at 28th; and infant mortality rate, at 22nd.
Our childhood obesity rates have increased, putting Canada in 27th place.
We are in 21st place on childhood bullying and 29th place on cannabis use.
Canadian children excel on tests in the areas of reading, mathematics and scientific knowledge, but we rank 24th on participation in secondary education.
These results are completely unacceptable. The government can and absolutely must do better for our children.