Reimagining Youth Subjectivity A Deconstruction of Child and Youth Legislation in Ontario

This research achieves two aims: it seeks to understand how the norms and standards outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) are implemented in Canada, focusing on legislative compliance at the provincial/ territorial level: specifically, the Child, Youth and Family Services Act (2017). Second, it evaluates whether the CRC has material value by exploring how youth subjectivity is constituted through this legislation. To achieve these aims, we engaged with the text of the legislation using Foucauldian critical discourse analysis (CDA). Findings indicate a shift in Ontario's political discourse through this Act's repositioning of young people as autonomous rights-holders. However, a disconnect is revealed between progressive legislation and the real-life impacts on young people. Consequently, the legislation represents an essential first step, but more is needed to realise the cRc's goal of establishing rights for all young people.