kids.now

(date)

Hon. Diane Finley
Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development
House of Commons
Confederation Building, room 707
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6

Dear Minister Finley:

I am writing to urge you to make youth leadership and life skills programming a funding priority for HRSDC. Our young people are this country's future, and we must invest in them to the same extent that we invest in other areas viewed as critical to Canada's continued and future economic growth and prosperity.

Today's youth are facing more social pressures than any generation before them. However, the supports required to help youth successfully navigate through life's challenges seem to be missing for many of our young people. According to the recent UN Report Card on Child Well-Being, young Canadians rank in the bottom third of youth in 21 OECD countries for family and peer relationships, behaviour and risks, and subjective well-being (how kids feel about themselves).

What's more, there seems to be a general lack of importance placed on investing in the middle years (ages 6-12) as a strategy to sustain the gains made in early childhood, and avert some of the perils associated with the teen years. In spite of the mountains of research on how experiences during this critical development period can positively or adversely impact a child's future, these "forgotten years of childhood" seldom receive the attention of Canadian policy makers or public sector funders.

You can change this. We ask that you dedicate more funding to the development of leadership and life skills programming for Canada's youth and, in so doing, honour HRSDC's commitment to social development goals related to providing youth with tools and skills that enable them to "make choices that help them to live productive and rewarding lives," resulting in a "strong and competitive Canada."

After all, our young people are tomorrow's citizens, employees and success stories. It's our shared responsibility to coach them to make positive choices and help them build the life-success skills they need to reach their full potential.

 Thank you in advance for your time and commitment to this issue.

Sincerely,
(your name)