Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond knows first-hand what happens when children don’t get the social supports they need. All too often they end up in the courts.

Turpel-Lafond, who was appointed the BC Representative for Children and Youth in 2006, was previously a provincial court judge in Saskatchewan. She often found that the young people standing in front of her did not have advocates in their lives.

On Feb. 1 she delivered the Silas Halyk Visiting Scholar Lecture to University of Saskatchewan law students inside a packed house at the College of Law’s MLT Theatre. She said that she loves her role as an official advocate, working with children and youth "whose voices are not frequently heard."

One of the more troubling things for Saskatchewan, she said, is that the province has a disproportionate number of incarcerated 18-year-olds compared with B.C., despite the latter province’s larger population.

However, there are things that can be done to help kids – specifically providing the social supports they need as well as a forum for them to be heard. Turpel-Lafond pointed to efforts in B.C. that have had positive effects, such as a youth summit for immigrant refugee kids to give their input about changes to the English as a Second Language system.

“It’s a really good idea to spend time with young kids talking to them,” she said.

Nobel laureate Dr. James Heckman will be among the many experts coming to Moose Jaw this May for a comprehensive conference on early childhood development (ECD).

Heckman, the Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago, will be the keynote speaker for Imagine Our Future – Investing in the Early Years, May 9 to 11.

The Moose Jaw Early Childhood Coalition is hosting the conference. Among those joining Heckman will be Dr. Stuart Shanker, Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy and Psychology at York University; Dr. Clyde Hertzman from UBC’s Human Early Learning Partnership; Jim Grieve, Assistant Deputy Minister, Ontario ELD; and Dr. Jean Clinton, McMaster University.

A new report from the Canadian Pediatric Society adds further support to the call for more investment in early learning and child care.

Are We Doing Enough? A status report on Canadian public policy and child and youth health cites the economic rationale behind early learning and care, saying the return to society on money invested ranges from $4-8 for every $1 invested.

It also cites the high costs and lost productivity associated with child poverty as well as mental illness, which can be prevented or at least treated more effectively and less expensively through early intervention rather than later in life.

Canadians 55 and older think younger adults should “wait their turn” when it comes sharing in the country’s wealth, despite evidence that it’s getting harder for adults with young children to raise families.

This was a finding from a recent poll conducted for UBC researchers Paul Kershaw and Lynell Anderson from the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP). The poll included respondents from Saskatchewan, as well as those in BC, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada; the full polling data is available here.

UBC researchers commissioned this poll as a follow-up to the release of their national report card, Does Canada Work for All Generations? The report looked at the challenges today’s young families – Generation Squeezed – are facing across the country.

Kershaw partnered with kidSKAN’s Nazeem Muhajarine and Sue Delanoy to release the report card at the University of Saskatchewan on Oct. 18. The Generation Squeezed story received media attention across the country and even from the New York Times.