Evidence of meeting #22 for Status of Women in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was online.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Connie Cody Conservative Cambridge, ON
In your line of work, you see a lot of harm being done to women, and you must notice that it has increased. Do you feel that in the last 10 years there has been a significant increase in the harms toward women?
February 3rd, 2026 / 11:35 a.m.
Members' Coordinator, Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres
Absolutely. Over the past decade, our member centres have seen a notable increase in harassment, intimidation and barriers to disclosure, as well as shifting social tides that allow folks to come forward and disclose more often, but without a subsequent increase in resources and supports for survivors. The harm may not always be reflected in official statistics, but the risks to disclosure, and to access to supports as well, have grown significantly over the past decade.
Conservative
Liberal
Iqra Khalid Liberal Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for being here today.
I want to make a quick point. We're talking about the online space and anti-feminist ideologists dominating that space, yet we just asked you a question about the negative impacts of women trying to own that space and claiming their own identities online.
Dr. Boursier, if I may, can I please have your comment on that?
Doctor of Political Science, As an Individual
I'm not sure I understood the question. Could you please be more specific?
Liberal
Iqra Khalid Liberal Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON
Well, we're talking about the online space. What we've heard in the testimony today is about it being dominated by people who are making money from anti-feminist ideology.
When we talk about women taking ownership of the online space as well—to be more identity-seeking, I guess, and to be proud of their identity—we tend to say, no, you should be a little more meek; you shouldn't be attracting attention to yourself, and you should continue to play the victim and be inside and not take ownership of that space.
Do you think that rhetoric is helpful to this conversation?
Doctor of Political Science, As an Individual
Yes, absolutely. When we look at who antifeminists go after, namely feminist activists online, it's clear that feminist women are the first to be attacked by this rhetoric.
It's not just rhetoric, however. It's been said before, and I'll say it again: Violence can manifest in very concrete ways, such as the malicious online disclosure of personal information about feminist vloggers to encourage people to go to their homes and threaten them, or the disclosure of the names of their family members in order to harass them.
Obviously, harassment can be extremely intense and relentless; it can go on for a very long time. In fact, the documentary that's already been mentioned here, Je vous salue salope, shows very clearly how this discourse is extremely virulent and primarily targets feminists and women online.
Liberal
Iqra Khalid Liberal Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON
Thank you for that. I really appreciate that analysis.
You talked about how feminists are being doxed, being targeted. Their lives are being threatened, and their charter rights are being violated.
Let's talk about accountability for these people. I know that a lot of the conversation around this study has been about prevention, which I think is very important, and about education, which I also think is very important, but it's a generational transition. As you said, Tristan, violence against women has been going on for centuries and thousands of years. Where are we with the accountability?
Our government has introduced Bill C-16 to address some of those exact issues that you mentioned of feminists and women being targeted online, in physical spaces and in workspaces. What more do you think we can do in terms of holding people to account who are using anti-feminist ideology to make money, to incite hatred and to further perpetuate the violence that women face, sometimes for political gain?
Doctor of Political Science, As an Individual
Thank you for the question.
I haven't studied the bill in detail, so I won't be able to make an assessment. What I can say is that Canada is not the only country that is extremely concerned about the phenomenon. It exists in other western European countries, as well as our neighbour to the south, the United States.
The European Union, for example, has passed the Digital Services Act. It's not being applied 100%, but it has some worthwhile advantages. The act could be worth looking into, particularly since it requires platforms to be more transparent about their business model and the reasons why you are recommended online content that is sometimes hateful, anti-feminist or racist.
Making platforms more accountable through legal mechanisms is a path that absolutely must be considered, obviously.
Liberal
Iqra Khalid Liberal Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON
Thank you.
Mylène, do you want to comment on this as well?
Executive Director, Les 3 sex*
Yes, thank you.
It's not only feminists who are restricted, but all women who speak out, regardless of their political stripe. We cannot take part in this culture of victim blaming. We cannot tell a victim that she shouldn't have been online or that she shouldn't have shared a particular photo of herself. Instead, we need to go to the source, which is the people who perpetrate these acts.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Marilyn Gladu
Thank you.
Mrs. Larouche, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.
Bloc
Andréanne Larouche Bloc Shefford, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I mentioned the people involved with the play. Now I'm going to mention Guylaine Maroist and Léa Clermont‑Dion from the documentary we're talking about, Je vous salue salope. I urge anyone who hasn't seen it to take a look.
Mr. Boursier, you talked about platform accountability, among other things. Marie-Eve Carignan, full professor and director of the UNESCO Chair in the Prevention of Radicalization and Violent Extremism, believes something similar. She came to testify before the committee, as did David Morin, co‑chair of the same research chair at the Université de Sherbrooke. He criticized the lack of statistics and research to properly document the rise in online radicalization and hate.
In your opinion as a political scientist, why is it important to get more data? What difference can that make?
Ms. de Repentigny‑Corbeil or even Ms. Haddish could also answer.
Doctor of Political Science, As an Individual
I'll take the liberty of answering first.
Yes, I agree with that. There is a lack of resources on the issue and a lack of data across Canada. There are surveys, some of which are fairly localized, but with the current data, we have enough information to know that we need to continue to dig into the issue, because it's a worrisome situation that doesn't seem to concern only Canada. If we look at other countries where the phenomenon is somewhat better documented, such as the United States, or to countries where it is a bit more institutionalized, such as France, it is clear that this is extremely worrisome and disturbing.
Therefore, we need better tools so that we can later provide more resources and avenues for prevention and for the regulation of platforms.
Bloc
Andréanne Larouche Bloc Shefford, QC
Ms. de Repentigny‑Corbeil, you work in the field, and you, Ms. Haddish, work in centres. How do you see this?
Executive Director, Les 3 sex*
One of the necessary methods is to ensure that, for every piece of masculinist content, there is educational content that is promoted to raise awareness online. It's important to involve the platforms as well, because they have a wide range of users and they can reach a lot of people.
While waiting for data, we have set up a project on the ground called Cyberheroes. It deals with masculinism and the rise of that ideology. The problem is that, half the time, the content we are trying to promote online is reported to the platforms and then removed by them. We're being prevented from publishing it. The content is censored because it's too political, because we're talking about the far right and the rise of masculinism.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Marilyn Gladu
Thank you. Mrs. Larouche's time is up.
Now we'll go to Ms. Vien for five minutes.
Conservative
Dominique Vien Conservative Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC
Thank you.
Good morning, everyone. I'll ask my questions quickly, because I have a little less time in this round.
Mr. Boursier, thank you for being with us today. You talk a lot about digital platforms. To your knowledge, would you be able to identify other forums where anti-feminism exists and evolves? I'm thinking, for example, of religious movements. I won't name one in particular. Even my religion, Catholicism, could be targeted for shortcomings such as the fact that women are not allowed to be ordained as priests. I'm thinking of religious movements, advertising or fiction programs, for example. Have you looked at the whole picture to determine whether, in addition to digital platforms, there are also other areas of public life where the phenomenon exists?
Doctor of Political Science, As an Individual
I haven't measured the rise of anti-feminism across society. That would be an ambitious project that would take a lifetime of research, I think.
However, I will take the opportunity to say that online anti-feminism does not come out of nowhere. We live in a sexist and patriarchal society that anti-feminists can use to legitimize their thinking as desirable and “truthful” for them. This is something that happens.
As for religion, I'm not an expert. In my area, there is more in common with the Catholic religion, but that is likely not the only one. David Morin, I think, would have more to say on this than I could.
Conservative
Dominique Vien Conservative Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC
I understand that this isn't exclusive to the platforms, but what you're saying this morning is that they are often where this happens as we speak.
What do you have to say about the women who subscribe to this kind of model? I took note of what you said in your presentation about the business model. There are actually women who follow these men. Recently, before the holidays, there was a kind of big event in Texas attended by women who subscribe to the precepts and values promoted by men who subscribe to anti-feminism. What is your take on that?
Doctor of Political Science, As an Individual
Yes, there are even female anti-feminist influencers. They are in the minority in the field I study. However, some of them are very high-profile. Being women gives them an excuse for making sexist or anti-feminist comments. They use the fact that they are women to say that it is impossible for a woman to make anti-feminist comments. This is something that has been studied in the literature on the subject. For example, researcher Magali Della Sudda has studied what she calls “right-wing women” and how women can speak out against gender equality while asserting their womanhood. There are internal tensions in their positions and in the battles they are waging. It's a whole topic in the literature, but these women are still in the minority, in any case, from what I observe.
Conservative
Dominique Vien Conservative Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC
We should also not throw out the baby with the bathwater. We should not rope in women who, with their partner, make the decision to stay at home to raise their children. That is their legitimate right.
You said that masculinism arose because, it claims, feminist women have gone too far. In what way have they gone too far in the opinion of men who denigrate women and don't believe in gender equality? How are they supposed to have gone too far?
Doctor of Political Science, As an Individual
That would be giving these men a voice here, but their world view is quite disconnected from objective data. They feel that men are at a disadvantage in all aspects of our society, whether in the economy, politics or court decisions. As a result, they see themselves as victims of society. In short, they consider that feminism has gone too far in every respect.
I would also like to remind you that their narrative is different from a criticism of feminism that might come from feminists, insofar as they propose no alternative. They are also not saying anything that would be an egalitarian alternative to the feminism they criticize. This is clearly a blanket opposition to feminism in general.
Conservative
Dominique Vien Conservative Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC
I will close by saying that, when I was in college, at CEGEP, the father of my boyfriend at the time, when he learned that I played soccer, told me that it was a guy's sport. Today, there are girls' teams in hockey and in every other sport. Good news, all is not lost.