Passive, not active: The response of Prince Edwad Island to the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989--1991

This thesis discusses the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child as a vehicle for the promotion and guarantee of children's rights in Prince Edward Island (PEI) policy and legislation from 1989 to 1991. It covers relations between the Government of Canada and the Province of PEI concerning the Convention, evaluates the World Summit for Children in 1990 and the National Action Plan in 1991, and demonstrates that the province's legislation on children underwent no immediate changes resulting from the UN document or federal-provincial diplomacy. Records from the United Nations, the Government of Canada, the Government of Prince Edward Island and provincial Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) illustrate the erratic nature of the Convention's implementation in PEI and the paucity of measures taken by a limited number of government organizations and NGOs within the province, where it was regarded as a federal initiative and not a provincial priority.