An impassioned plea for child labour solutions was made on Friday in the Toronto Star by Economics Professor Sadia Mariam Malik. The article says that Children work to help their families escape hunger. Improved social programs and foreign aid that address poverty and increase access to education are the solution.

"Canada can help by encouraging democratic governance around the world, and by increasing its foreign aid commitments and targeting it effectively towards poverty eradication programs, particularly education," says Malik. "But the overall aid commitment has declined and remains much below the UN recommended level of 0.7 per cent of GDP."

She argues for a holistic approach to addressing child labour and other humanitarian problems around the world which would require that Canada increase its foreign aid commitment and ensure that its utilization is transparent, efficient, and is targeted where it is needed the most.

Read the full article in the Toronto Star.