The short answer is yes. I think that the online toxicity is a huge contributing factor to the rise in Islamophobia and the rise in racist conduct, quite frankly, beyond Islamophobia.
Again, it's just going back to these echo chambers where people are finding themselves in groups, online discussions or social media channels where the worst elements of their prejudices are being spoken to and being encouraged. Then they're being given a platform to come together, to organize and to attack, unfortunately, upon this hateful messaging. It really is unfortunate that these platforms exist, and it's a very difficult task that government has in terms of trying to regulate it. I understand that it's a difficult task. I understand the challenges that come with it, particularly when we're living in a free and democratic society where freedom of expression is something that, rightfully, we hold dear in our society. We need to toe that line between censorship and tackling things, again, that are actually resulting in death.
There's a harm principle here. As a society.... Decades ago when we first came up with our hate speech laws, these discussions happened. It was recognized and accepted that words can kill. I remember learning in my first-year constitutional law class about screaming “Fire!” in a crowded theatre and the impact that that has. You cause a stampede and people die just from one word. Words do have an impact. When people are finding these forums online that are unregulated and that allow them to, with the cloak of anonymity, proliferate these very, very harmful messages and recruit others into this hateful ideology that they're teaching, it's a problem. There are going to be impacts. There are going to be consequences. People will continue to die, unfortunately, unless we do something about it. We can't expect that, if we just turn a blind eye and pretend that it's not happening, things are going to be better. It won't. It won't get better.
Even though it's a difficult thing for the government to do—to have to regulate, to figure out how to regulate it—it's something that the government must do. I don't envy the task of government, and your task as legislators. You have a difficult road ahead, but it's a critical road that needs to be taken immediately. It can't be sort of put on the back burner.
As a society, as Canadians, we don't shy away from things just because they're hard. We have to do them. That means talking to the people who are experts in this field to come up with a way to have laws, regulations and policies in place that curb that harmful stuff that's going on in a way that still respects our liberties.