Since its publication in 2019, this important and practical guide to the law has empowered and educated Canadian children and youth and those who serve them. The authors address questions about how rights and laws affect the lives of young people at home, at school, at work, and in their relationships as they draw attention to the many ways in which a person's life can intersect with the law. This revised and updated edition reflects the progress that has occurred in Indigenous child welfare legislation. Updates also reflect amendments to the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the Divorce Act as well as amendments to a variety of provincial child and family laws.
Shortlisted for the 2020 Alberta Book Publishing Awards Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1 Introduction to the Law and Your Rights
Chapter 2 Being a Minor
Chapter 3 Being Your Parents' Child
Chapter 4 Going to School
Chapter 5 Going to Work
Chapter 6 Love, Sex, and Marriage
Chapter 7 Child and Family Services
Chapter 8 Being in Conflict with the Law
Chapter 9 Fighting for Your Rights
Appendix A Glossary of Legal Terms
Appendix B How a Bill Becomes Law
Appendix C Links to Useful Resources
Appendix D Legislation, Conventions, Charters, and Court Cases "Lecic and Zuker have done a masterful job in producing this invaluable resource for young people in Canada. The authors answer key questions young people have about rights and laws that affect them at home, at school, at work, and in their relationships. Provincial and territorial variations in law are included making the guide relevant to all Canadian children and youth. The discussion is clear and straightforward with no moralistic or patronizing overtones. The information it contains provides an excellent basis for adults and youth to negotiate rules and standards of behavior.
In addition to being a useful resource to parents and teachers, I would like to see The Law is (Not) for Kids become a required component of citizenship education for all junior and high school students in Canada."
-Katherine Covell, PhD, Children's Rights Consultant
Ned Lecic is a writer and activist. He has worked as a tutor, copyeditor, and translator and currently resides in Prague, Czech Republic, where he teaches English. Marvin Zuker, co-author of The Law is Not for Women (1976) with June Callwood, was appointed a Judge of the Ontario Court of Justice in 1978. He retired in 2016 and is currently a professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto where he has taught Education Law since 1982.
"This is an impressive and valuable book on the legal rights and responsibilities of children and youth in Canada. It describes not only what rights children currently have in Canada in fields such as parent-child relations, employment, sex, marriage, and youth justice, but also what rights they should have, using as a guide the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is a highly welcome book, informative, engaging, and written in language accessible for youth."
-R. Brian Howe, Professor Emeritus, Political Science and Children's Rights, Cape Breton University
"This book is an important and timely document. The Law is (Not) for Kids is a highly accessible legal manual for young people that apprises them not only of the form and content of Canada's laws for the young but also what children and youth can expect in terms of their civil liberties, their legal protections, and their ability to influence law and justice. Importantly, while the book speaks directly to young people, it also speaks to a larger public including parents, educators and all levels of judicial officials. A young person's legal rights document of such clarity and focus has been needed for years and it has finally arrived."
-Bernard Schissel, Professor Emeritus, Royal Roads University and Professor Emeritus, University of Saskatchewan "There is
