Justice committee  Yes, I think Canadian society has a fairly high level of family violence, which about one in five children witnesses. What the best interests criteria do is make sure that decision-makers are looking at those criteria. You have illustrated perfectly what I was trying to express

Justice committee  I think it stands a good chance of doing so in a stronger way, because it is much more explicit that this is a factor to be delved into.

Justice committee  When we're asking rights holders to claim their rights and express their voices, one basic principle is that it not be harmful to them and that any risks be mitigated. I think children can have some risk in expressing their voice, especially in very high-conflict situations, agai

Justice committee  It is distinct, yes.

Justice committee  Again, we use the convention—what the government has agreed to support and what children's entitlements are—to think about how best to understand what their best interests are. Children have rights to maintain relationships with both parents, unless it's against their best intere

Justice committee  Thank you very much. I'm Lisa Wolff. I'm the director of policy and research at UNICEF Canada. You may know UNICEF as the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund. We have a presence in more than 190 countries. What we do in low- and middle-income countries is diff