Evidence of meeting #19 for Canadian Heritage in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was children.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Fares Al Soud Liberal Mississauga Centre, ON
Thank you very much for that answer.
What do you think is the difference—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Lisa Hepfner
Pardon me for interrupting, but your time is up. I am sorry.
Mr. Champoux has the floor for six minutes.
Bloc
Martin Champoux Bloc Drummond, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I want to thank the witnesses very much for being here today.
I'll continue with you, Ms. Tessier-Bouchard, because you ended your answer by raising a point that I find very interesting.
You mentioned that we may have lost a generation of this digital age. You have chosen to devote more of your time to younger people in order to build the next generation.
Have we abandoned the generation of kids who are currently 12 years old and up?
Was it not possible to include teenagers in your Les As de l'info project? Would that have required creating two completely different projects?
I say this somewhat cynically, but have we let them down by telling ourselves that we will make up for it with future generations?
Editor, Les As de l'info, Les Coops de l'information
I think the young people who got away from us are between 20 and 25 years old.
Young people currently in high school, particularly in Quebec, receive courses in Quebec culture and citizenship, with a strong emphasis on civics, information literacy and critical thinking in all its forms.
In the Les As de l'info project, as in any other project—and this is where my expertise comes in and where we need to be careful—it is essential to target your audience very carefully. If you try to reach everyone, you will reach no one. A well-targeted project will reach its target audience very effectively, as well as other people interested in that target audience.
So we can't make Les As de l'info a project that extends into secondary school. We would like to do something that bridges the gap between Les As de l'info and media for older children and adults. Right now, we have the project and the desire. We have everything we need, except the money.
Bloc
Martin Champoux Bloc Drummond, QC
In your opening remarks, you raised a few points that really struck a chord with me. You said that we should stop talking about children as the citizens of tomorrow, because they are the citizens of today who, as you said, can also be leaders.
You participated in a study that led to the publication of a report entitled “Children: leaders who can contribute to a better-informed and more critical society in the face of misinformation?” I'd like to talk about that a little, because it presents Les As de l'info as a great experiment whose successes can inspire similar initiatives.
Earlier, my colleague Mr. Al Soud mentioned an article on the front page of Les As de l'info, “Opération sauvetage de cadeaux dans un hôpital pour enfants!” about gifts being handed out to children at a hospital. The article really caught my attention because it tells the story of the Grinch trying to steal gifts. Everything ends well, however, because the police intervene. For a child, it's a fascinating story. Anyway, I'm getting a little sidetracked.
I want to come back to the study, and I also want us to talk about the potential repercussions it could have.
Can you measure today the impact that your project has had since its creation in 2022?
December 8th, 2025 / 4:35 p.m.
Editor, Les As de l'info, Les Coops de l'information
It's difficult to measure, but we do have certain indicators.
This study was conducted in the early days of Les As de l'info. If we conducted it again now, we would probably get many more responses. However, the response that we should focus on is that when children feel competent, they want to share their skills. When they share their skills, they share them with their family, friends and even in class. They then become leaders in the fight against misinformation, particularly in our case.
When their knowledge was tested through a survey and they were asked, for example, if they had ever heard of misinformation and if they could spot it, 84% of the children participating in the Les As de l'info project responded that they were familiar with misinformation and felt equipped to detect it. In the same survey, 44% of children who were not participating in the project answered yes.
This means that the feeling of competence, the fact that we repeat things in different ways and make children aware that they are competent, gives them power. Our slogan is “Your curiosity is a superpower.” That's what we want. Children feel empowered. They can tell their parents when something was made with artificial intelligence, for example, and explain why. They are happy to share this.
Bloc
Martin Champoux Bloc Drummond, QC
I really like the term “pollinator”. In fact, we discussed it in previous meetings with other guests we've had.
When we began this study, as I often say, I was convinced that banning social media for young people under the age of 16 was a very good approach. I still think it's an interesting approach because, as you pointed out, we've lost a generation, so let's try to limit the damage, so to speak.
It is certainly an interesting tool. However, the more we discuss and talk with people who, like you, contribute constructive ideas based generally on digital literacy and education, the more I wonder if that is the right solution.
Could this measure be temporary? The generation you are currently creating, thanks to your initiative, means that in 10 or 15 years' time, we may not need to restrict access, because we will have done enough to spread the word so that misinformation is no longer a social issue.
What do you think?
Editor, Les As de l'info, Les Coops de l'information
Personally, I think we need to ensure that our fellow citizens, young and old, develop a more critical mind, that they are able to understand what they read, to read between the lines, and that is done through education, by offering them content that they can access. That is where the pitfalls lie at the moment. As soon as our content comes from a media outlet, it is blocked by the digital giants.
Obviously, we don't target children on social media, because they're not supposed to be there. We target teachers and parents. We manage to get around the digital giants and their publishing bans a little, because we're registered as an educational organization.
However, the fact remains that echo chambers feed themselves, and we have few tools at our disposal, both for adults and for teenagers. We have few tools to provide them with so that they can read and see other things, so that they can get used to the idea that there is a media outlet in Quebec City, that there are media outlets in Montreal, and so that they know what they are called.
Some young people have never opened a newspaper in their lives and have never read a news story. It's important to point this out. In the past, newspapers were left lying around on tables or coffee tables, but whatever the case, they were visible. Now, they are no longer visible, and that is detrimental. Of course, a single initiative and education cannot do everything, but I think that if we are able to reach people, it can be a great help.
Liberal
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Côte-du-Sud—Rivière-du-Loup—Kataskomiq—Témiscouata, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I want to thank all the witnesses for being here.
Ms. Tessier‑Bouchard, I will continue with you.
I understand that parents have to give their children permission to be one of your readers, or, in fact, to become members of the Les As de l'info group. Is that correct? Did I get that right?
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Côte-du-Sud—Rivière-du-Loup—Kataskomiq—Témiscouata, QC
The parent inevitably gives their permission. That's how you control access for 8- to 12-year-olds who register on your site, if I understand correctly.
Editor, Les As de l'info, Les Coops de l'information
Yes. Obviously, some young people are older, but we let them find out for themselves. However, the child must have consent from a parent or teacher to register. We have a section for children and a section for teachers. The teacher can send a letter to parents seeking authorization for the child to create a profile. We offer educational activities that teachers can use in class. There are two ways to verify that a child has not registered on their own. Verification is always done.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Côte-du-Sud—Rivière-du-Loup—Kataskomiq—Témiscouata, QC
In October, Les As de l'info posted an article about the war in Gaza. It was a journalist covering the war in Gaza who answered our questions. Caroline Bouffard wrote a very interesting article about it.
I have four grandchildren. One of them is 11 and another one is 12.
Editor, Les As de l'info, Les Coops de l'information
They are the target audience.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Côte-du-Sud—Rivière-du-Loup—Kataskomiq—Témiscouata, QC
Yes, they are.
My grandson loves hunting and fishing. If I ask him any question about the type of weapon to use for hunting a particular type of animal, he could probably answer me. He understands all that. He knows all about it.
Clearly, some of the young people who follow your social media accounts are also very interested in international politics. I looked at the post written by one of the young respondents, and it was quite detailed and provided a lot of information.
What measures are you taking to ensure that it is in fact these young people who are writing the responses? You must have a way of verifying this, right? I don't want to take the time to read out the responses of the young person in question. I won't mention their name either.
Editor, Les As de l'info, Les Coops de l'information
Out of curiosity: What's his username?
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Côte-du-Sud—Rivière-du-Loup—Kataskomiq—Témiscouata, QC
His username is Eugènequestan, like Québéquestan. He has a keen interest in international politics.
I read his comments and I know that I would never have been able to respond like that when I was 12.
Editor, Les As de l'info, Les Coops de l'information
First, they are—
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Côte-du-Sud—Rivière-du-Loup—Kataskomiq—Témiscouata, QC
Some may be more woke than others. In any case, they are well informed, that's for sure.
Editor, Les As de l'info, Les Coops de l'information
On the one hand, they love politics, that's for sure.
We have held election night parties for every election. Thousands followed the election all evening and told us that they had to go to bed, that their mothers wanted them to go to bed, but that they didn't want to. It's very surprising.
On the other hand—
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Côte-du-Sud—Rivière-du-Loup—Kataskomiq—Témiscouata, QC
Sorry to cut you off, but apparently in the election you held, the Conservatives won. That is excellent news.
Editor, Les As de l'info, Les Coops de l'information
No, that's not us.
Conservative