Applying a Child’s Rights Lens: Lessons from the Yukon Child and Youth Advocate
Description:
The presentation will provide lawyers with a better understanding and resources to implement a child rights-based approach to their work consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and Yukon legislation and case law.
Annette King, Yukon Child and Youth Advocate will provide an overview of the Child and Youth Advocate Act and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and how they may be implemented to support the best interests of Yukon children and youth. She will also share an example of a toolkit for applying a Child’s Rights Impact Assessment in decision-making and policy planning that touches on the lives of Yukon children and youth.
Shaunagh Stikeman, lawyer and Advocate’s counsel, will provide an update on relevant legislation and recent case law to further the implementation of a child’s rights-based approach to legal practice.
The presentation will finish with a Q&A session.
Bios:
Annette King is the Yukon Child and Youth Advocate. She was sworn in by the Yukon Legislative Assembly in 2015 and was recently been reappointed for a second five-year term. Born and raised in Yukon, Ms. King has dedicated her 25+ years in social work clinical and leadership roles with Yukon Government. Ms. King has taught as a sessional instructor in the Bachelor of Social Work program at Yukon College. She is dedicated to upholding children’s rights with a focus on reconciliation. She was the 2020 Yukon recipient of the Canadian Association of Social Workers Award for Distinguished Service. Ms. King has a social work diploma from Red Deer College, and bachelor of social work degree and a masters of social work degrees from University of Calgary.
Shaunagh Stikeman obtained her BA Honours from McGill University in 2002 and her LL.B. from the University of Victoria in 2006. After clerking for the Supreme Court of British Columbia, she was called to the Bar in BC in 2009 and in Yukon in 2011. She has appeared before the Federal Court of Canada, the Tax Court of Canada, the Supreme Court of British Columbia and the Supreme Court and Territorial Court of Yukon. Shaunagh manages her own practice specializing in family law, civil litigation, human rights law, Indigenous law and administrative law.
Reference Materials
PowerPoint presentation by the Panelists