ABOLISH CHILD LABOUR

Dear Honorable Mr. Stephen Harper,

We, the undersigned, call on the Canadian government to make the abolition of child labour and child slavery their upmost priority.

Over 250 million children between the ages 4-18, are forced in to hazardous, abusive and exploitative conditions each day around the world and approximately one in six children are engaged in hazardous labor. They are everywhere but hidden. Labouring in mines, working with toxic and fatal pesticides or chemicals, toiling, hidden from view behind walls of a plantation or else working in homes as domestic slaves or personal prostitutes.

Each year, more than 22,000 children die in accidents related to their workforce and more than two thirds of all working children suffer long-term, life-threatening injuries.

Child labour and child slavery are issues with no easy solution; millions of children live in poverty and are forced into labour in order for their survival, making them trapped in the hands of their employers. They have little or no access to education, adequate healthcare and are denied even their basic needs and rights.

It is a vicious cycle that can only be stopped once governments and individuals are called upon to take action. We the undersigned, now call on the government, and leaders of world to make it their priority to provide free and mandatory education for all, to implement laws and conventions that insure the rights and needs of children worldwide, and to ensure punishment and retribution to those who go against these rights.

Yours sincerely,
Geneviève Nevin and undersigned.

CC Denise Savoie
Member of Parliament
Victoria B.C Canada