Status of Women committee  I'm really glad you mentioned that because I was just thinking about it. Back in 2014-15, the Conservatives brought up Bill C-13. You can google it. It was about protecting Canadians online. They called it a cyber-bullying bill, but to me it's not about cyber-bullying. It's about online victimization because it is about sharing sexual images of someone without consent.

Status of Women committee  As educators, we talk about apps. They're great to use. Emmanuel's app is the first stage, but you also need the stage after there's been an alert, and what happens. My big concern is.... Apps can be downloaded onto a young child's phone, but what happens with a teenager who's 13 or 19 and doesn't want their parents on their phone?

Status of Women committee  That's a big question. That's a question that has been floating around for a long time. I also have to say that October 10 is World Mental Health Day, and that's the day when Amanda took her life, not realizing it was World Mental Health Day, so awareness is really important. The strategies and tips....

Status of Women committee  Thank you for the question. Twelve years ago, back in 2009, when Amanda's victimization started by her online predator, we weren't very much aware of what was happening on the Internet, as parents, educators or law enforcement. We have learned so much in the last 12 years. I have to say that maybe because of what happened to Amanda, how high-profile her death was, and with the YouTube video that she posted, we keep learning and asking questions.

Status of Women committee  Dear standing committee members, thank you for this invitation to speak in front of your committee and provide thoughts contributing to the focus of mental health issues experienced by young women and girls, with attention to online harms and how these can greatly impact the self-esteem of this population.

Status of Women committee  Can everyone hear me?

Status of Women committee  Okay. I will start. Dear committee members, thank you for this invitation to—

Status of Women committee  I think that nothing is ever enough, but there are campaigns out there by different organizations and companies that focus on girls. We don't talk enough to our boys about how they need to respect females and how they need to behave to be “proper gentlemen”. We need to focus on having our boys listen to that message more and not be that tough guy who can stand up to anything.

Status of Women committee  Leah and I are often met with roadblocks when we are speaking out to schools or organizations only because no one wants to hear the words suicide and mental health. But our daughters' stories go far deeper than that, and there are life lessons to be learned. For us as parents, it's really frustrating when we get a reply back telling us, “Sorry, we can't have you in our school system or at this assembly because you're going to trigger our kids”.

Status of Women committee  I would certainly agree with what Leah is saying, that in every province and every jurisdiction it is different. If you go to cybercrime teams and ICE teams, they of course have more information on how to handle certain cases than on how to handle others. We can't deflect any cases that come through.

Status of Women committee  There are a few cellphone providers in our country. Each one of them seems to have a different platform. One has mental health. Another one has e-health and social media safety. They all need to be working on the same page and the same issue, because they all distribute the same tool.

Status of Women committee  No. No, there aren't enough resources. There isn't enough compensation. There aren't enough supports out there for people who have been victimized, not only through cyber-violence but also through sexual assaults and with rape. The story goes on and on, and we're not just talking about young girls.

Status of Women committee  When we told our personal story to the law enforcement agency, I too initially felt that we were dismissed. The week after the image was reported and we went in to talk to the RCMP, we were made to feel that they were looking at Amanda as a dysfunctional child who had issues of her own.

Status of Women committee  Our new curriculum just started this year. Digital responsibility has been talked about, but it's in separate zones. A school can decide to do it or not to do it. They could do it at 150%, or they could do it at 25%. We need to get telecommunication companies, who disperse cellphones and sell them and data plans to our families, involved so that they can have the broader discussion, because we're not going to do it just at schools.

Status of Women committee  I think so. Some people actually go after Leah and me and say we're only doing this for fame. I would give this all up in a heartbeat. On my plane ride here, I was in tears. I really shouldn't have to be on that plane to come and sit in front of this committee and talk about my daughter and the story that is presented.