FOREWORD

In the 1970s, the late Bora Laskin, former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, called for increased public legal education. Many decades later, there remains insufficient public legal education, especially as it relates to legal protections for children and teens. The revised edition of The Law Is (Not) for Kids comprehensively and substantively contributes to filling this information gap relating to children’s rights and parental legal responsibilities. This volume is written in clear and simple terms for an audience of young people who may be torn between who to live with in parental custody battles; who may suffer also from parental neglect and/or abuse, and be too frightened to seek help; or who may find themselves in trouble with the law but lack adult support or adequate resources to know their legal rights or risks.

The book will also be a helpful resource for parents, guardians, and other custodians who may be unfamiliar with children’s rights, or their own legal responsibilities, but are looking to gain an understanding of the nuances and complexities of the law as it applies to children and teens in practical situations. The authors cover topics like the age of consent for sexual encounters, marriage, abortion, as well as decision making as to which parent the child wishes to live with in the event of a divorce. There are also sections on legal change of name, which can vary in different jurisdictions across Canada, and the application of the Criminal Code, youth or adult court, and the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA). It is these nuances and often confusing tensions between statutory and common law, children’s rights, parental authority and legal responsibilities, legal definitions and common law interpretations, which are so well explained and illuminated in this book to facilitate informed knowledge and provide realistic expectations as to the extent that the law will (or will not), in effect, protect young people who find themselves in difficult situations, especially vis-à-vis their parents.

As the book’s title indicates, the law is not always on the side of kids and teens. The authors explain that the Criminal Code, YCJA and related police powers, not to mention provincial and municipal laws and tort law can, in some situations, fail young people. In each chapter and sub-section, Lecic and Zuker highlight ways in which the law either supports children (showing how it does this), or, may be inadequate or imbalanced under certain circumstances because of the complex networks, jurisdictional powers and/or common law decisions that can reduce the protections of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter), and provincial human rights codes that are supposed to guarantee all young Canadians protection of their rights. Some of the relevant sections of the Charter that apply to children are those that relate to the right to life, liberty, and security of the person (S. 7 Charter); the right to protection from unreasonable arrest and detention and the right to contact a parent, adult or lawyer (S. 8-13 Charter); and the right to equal treatment, protection and benefit of the law regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, race, or disability (S. 15 Charter).

The book concludes with practical advice for youth that will empower them to become active agents of change to progress the law and its role in supporting and protecting kids. It provides examples of letters youth can write to their local and federal politicians and senators along with concrete suggestions as to how they can stand up for their rights through petitions and even peaceful protests if they are convinced that their rights and those of other young people have been infringed. Some municipalities have youth councils that encourage participation by young people. There are many advocates in Canada that can support youth voices. The late senator Landon Pearson was a strong and committed voice for children’s rights. The authors of this book, Ned Lecic and Marvin Zuker, are equally strong in their support of children’s rights, legal education for youth, and potential improvements to the way in which current laws are conceptualized and applied to support children. This is evidenced by their example of relevant statutes in Norway that illustrate how protection and support of children can be revisited. I know that this edition will be an excellent resource in my education and law graduate course, and I plan to use it often.

Shaheen Shariff

James McGill Professor, McGill University