Status of Women Committee on Dec. 1st, 2025

[Léa Clermont-Dion]

It’s also the question of hate that interests us today, particularly hatred against women.

There’s the fact that platforms allow the dissemination of hate speech without adequate oversight. This allows narratives to be heard and released.

This is a different issue from regulating hate speech, but there’s also the fact that some platforms do not consider it important to protect human rights, and they allow these kinds of comments to be heard. This sends a message.

There’s a political and social context that needs to be mentioned. The President of the United States operates through insults and a certain form of misogyny. He is there, he is present, he is heard, and he is not alone. I invite you once again to watch the documentary entitled Je vous salue salope: la misogynie au temps du numérique. In it, we see, for example, Laura Boldrini, the former president of the Italian Parliament, being attacked by masculinists, who launched a campaign of hatred and terror.

By allowing this hatred, we’re telling people that they can also embrace this ideology.

[Marie-Gabrielle Ménard, Liberal, Hochelaga—Rosemont-Est, QC]

At the last committee meeting, people mentioned a cornerstone to this phenomenon, and that was rejection. That is similar to what I’m hearing once again in your answers.

Do you consider this to be a possible cause? As a federal government, what can we do? What can we do, as a government body, to address an issue like rejection, which can obviously lead to divisions in society?

Ms. Neapole, I would like to hear your point of view.

[Jacqueline Neapole]

It's complicated, because I don't think it's just that. Those are the feelings—people are feeling that—but I think it's bigger than that. We need to go back to looking at what feminism is. It's for women's human rights. It's being okay with that and standing up for what is right and saying that. It's not being afraid to use the language that feminism is okay.

I think that is how we renormalize that, because we're seeing that it's exponentially growing. It's proliferating. It becomes a cesspool of the same things over and over again. It's kind of self-fulfilling. It's very important that we stand up for human rights and what's right. Women should have human rights.

[Marie-Gabrielle Ménard, Liberal, Hochelaga—Rosemont-Est, QC]

Ms. Clermont‑Dion, you said that we didn’t have Canadian data to better study the phenomenon. Should the federal government have a role in data collection?

[Léa Clermont-Dion]

Yes. Organizations like yours are essential for further documenting the issue. There is some data, but it’s not enough. There has been interest in the issue of anti‑feminism for a long time, but it has never been so popular.

Moreover, we may not all agree here today on all the parameters of this issue, but we can agree on one thing: Education is essential, and no one wants to see women’s rights take a step back. We want inclusive education that combats hatred and disinformation. To implement programs accessible to everyone, there must be investment in an education program that promotes the deconstruction of hate speech propagated by disinformation, including masculinist narratives, of course.

Of course, it’s an area of provincial jurisdiction, but the federal government also has a role to play in all of this.

[Marie-Gabrielle Ménard, Liberal, Hochelaga—Rosemont-Est, QC]

To come back to what you mentioned, if we don’t pay attention to the issue of anti‑feminist narratives, will our democracy be harmed?

[Léa Clermont-Dion]

Absolutely.

[Marie-Gabrielle Ménard, Liberal, Hochelaga—Rosemont-Est, QC]

Ms. Neapole, what do you think?

[Jacqueline Neapole]

Yes.

[Marie-Gabrielle Ménard, Liberal, Hochelaga—Rosemont-Est, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

Ms. Larouche, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

I thank the two witnesses for being here with us today.

Right now, we’re witnessing a rise in violence against women and we’re wondering how we got here. I believe that the issue we’re discussing today, which is concerning, is at the root of the increase in these numbers.

Ms. Clermont‑Dion, you’ve already appeared before the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, notably to discuss the issues following the London assaults, as part of our study aimed at changing anti‑feminist or masculinist behaviours in the world of sports. You had come to make some recommendations.

You were also supposed to come here, to the Hill, on March 8, 2023, with your colleague Guylaine Maroist, to talk about your documentary, Je vous salue salope. My colleague on the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage and I had invited you. We chose that theme for March 8, which is International Women’s Day. Unfortunately, you were unable to come and Ms. Maroist was here alone.

If you had come to the Hill at that time to talk about your documentary, what message would you have wanted to convey?

[Léa Clermont-Dion]

At the launch of the film Je vous salue salope, I would have liked to say that it’s important to understand that masculinist and anti‑feminist narratives contribute to the trivialization of violence, but also to cyber-violence. Cyber-violence will affect all women who are visible in public spaces.

However, today, I’d like us to focus on female politicians, particularly women who want to speak up and exercise their democratic rights. When their freedom of expression is trampled or threatened by the violence of certain more radicalized masculinist actors, ultimately, it is we who are affected. It is our democracy that is undermined. I have said it before and I’ll say it again. That’s what I would have liked to say at the time, and that is what I am saying again today more than ever.

I just wrote an article for the Canadian Journal of Political Science on the issue of cyber-violence directed at female politicians. I feel it’s important to continue questioning this issue and to see the link between cyber-violence and the most radical masculinist narratives.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

This is the theme we chose on March 8, 2023, precisely to follow up on your requests and a petition you had launched. It’s important to understand how cyber-violence and masculinist discourse discourage women from entering the public sphere, whether in politics or elsewhere.

You said that Quebec could do things, but that the elements related to the Criminal Code fell under federal jurisdiction. When we talk about regulating hate speech online and cyber-violence, that concerns the Criminal Code and therefore the federal government. The same applies to coercive control. That is to a degree the message we heard from the people who worked on the Rebâtir la confiance, or rebuilding trust, report concerning crimes against women, namely that matters related to the Criminal Code fall under federal jurisdiction.

During the last Parliament, Bill C‑63 was tabled, which was a reflection on the regulation of such cyber-violence. Why would it be important to introduce another federal bill to regulate this?

[Léa Clermont-Dion]

Since we submitted that petition, which was signed by 30,000 people, I don’t really know what has been done. We haven’t made much progress on this issue. We must continue to question this, because it is a democratic right to freedom of speech.

When we talk about masculinist narratives, we’re obviously not just talking about individuals who make statements prohibited by the Criminal Code. We should not make hasty generalizations, as Ms. Cody said. Nevertheless, it must be noted that there’s still no protection or security for those who would like to speak out in the public space. There are many public speakers who can attest to this, even in Je vous salue salope, like Laurence Gratton, who was an education student and was being cyber-bullied by someone who subscribes to radical masculinist rhetoric. Nothing has been done in the last 10 years. So, unfortunately, she is still living in insecurity 10 years later, and that is very alarming. We need to take this issue seriously, and I hope that today’s discussion will be the beginning of something.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Unfortunately, Bill C‑63 died on the Order Paper when the election was called, and we are still waiting to see how this issue will be brought back to the agenda. I might come back to it during my second round, as I would also like to talk about education.

You’ve provided training to young hockey players, among others, particularly with respect to their relationships with women. What do you take away from that experience, and what should we remember about education?

[Léa Clermont-Dion]

My experience with the players in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League changed my life, as I realized that dialogue was still possible with everyone. At the heart of the education project, that dialogue is essential, not to blame or stigmatize the boys, but just to try to move forward together and counter violence in general.

If I’m here today, it’s for my son and my daughter. I hope to give them a positive future where men and women can be free. That’s the foundation.

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

Very good.

Witnesses, if there is additional data or commentary you want to provide to the clerk, the committee would be very happy to receive it.

We're going to begin our second round with Madam Vien for five minutes.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Thank you for joining us this afternoon and for giving us your time.

Ms. Clermont‑Dion, thank you for accepting our invitation. In the Conservative Party, we wanted to hear from you and allow the entire Standing Committee on the Status of Women to benefit from your insights. I’m with you and Quebec is with you too. You’re a great friend to women.

Earlier, my colleague spoke about the generalization of men. We are also concerned about recognizing that we tried to raise our sons and husbands to respect women, and I think we have been fairly successful in the end. However, the current situation is serious. It shocks me to hear certain comments, whether on television or on various platforms. You say it’s a phenomenon. Last week, I dared to call it as a national crisis. Is that too strong? Violence against women is on the rise. Domestic violence has increased by 39% and sexual assaults have increased by 76%. These are bad times for women.

Are we experiencing a national crisis?

[Léa Clermont-Dion]

First, I would like to thank the Conservative Party for inviting me to the House of Commons to speak on this issue. I appreciate your comment.

For my part, I always try to take a nuanced view, but at the same time, if you say so, I’ll agree with you. Indeed, we may be experiencing a national crisis with respect to violence. I’ve been involved in this subject for 20 years and I’ve never seen such online misogyny. I’ve never seen such statements. I never thought I would see that in my lifetime. There may be a correlational link between the increase in violence and the misogyny that we’re seeing. There’s a concept called the continuum of violence, which starts with hatred and ends with action. Right now, it seems like everyone is realizing this.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

It’s incredible that there haven’t been any breaches. At some point, it seems to me that people should think before writing a comment and ask themselves if it’s too harsh. Parents are also involved, and you mentioned teachers. You say that 76% of them feel overwhelmed by the situation.

[Léa Clermont-Dion]

You’re asking me for data, but honestly, as I said, it’s happening so fast that we don’t really have any data that explains this phenomenon. What we can see, however, is that even children are exposed to potentially hateful comments on social media, such as TikTok and YouTube. Debbie Ging’s research demonstrates this, and I can send it to you later. At this time, we have no idea how quickly this phenomenon is evolving.

I watch my six‑year-old navigate social media too, because we all have access to an electronic tablet, and it’s concerning because we don’t know how far it goes. We didn’t talk about artificial intelligence, but know that 99% of photos created using digital deepfakes are pornographic in nature and 98% target young girls. I don’t necessarily draw a link between this and masculinist narratives, but it’s an extremely concerning global context.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

I’m sorry, but like my colleagues, I have a limited speaking time. It’s our major frustration.

Earlier, you mentioned positive male figures. I expressed a hypothesis last week. When a boy is born, he’s with his mother. Then, he goes to a child care centre, where he’s with women, because there are no male educators. Then, he arrives in elementary school, where there are no male teachers. In high school, there are very few, and in college, it starts to be a bit more open to men.

Where are the significant male figures in the education continuum?

[Léa Clermont-Dion]

There’s no doubt that there needs to be a diversification of role models from childhood. In Quebec, 96% of early childhood educators are women. So, indeed, positive role models are needed in institutions and elsewhere. I understand that Ms. Cody found the concept of positive role models a bit unusual, but it’s about seeking a diversification of role models that’s not focused on promoting violence. We want role models who are good allies for women, plain and simple. It’s common sense.

Indeed, you raise a good point by saying that there aren’t many role models.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

My hypothesis might therefore deserve to be studied.