Mr. Speaker, I rise here today to speak in support of the initiative brought forward by my NDP colleague from Chicoutimi—Le Fjord. His initiative involves developing a national bullying prevention strategy.
My colleague's motion, moved on October 15, 2012, remains current and extremely relevant, especially considering the growing number of suicides that have been linked to bullying. A very recent case comes to mind involving a teenager named Amanda Todd, from British Columbia, who was a victim of bullying. In her case and others, isolation at school can cause kids to drop out or, sadly, even worse, to commit suicide.
Considering the seriousness of the situation, we have a duty to take action, which is why it is so important, as my colleague's initiative proposes, to call on the government to examine the prevalence and impact of various kinds of bullying. A national bullying prevention strategy would also look at the best ways to go about tackling the problem. Creating a special committee is a wonderful idea for examining the problem of bullying in Canada.
In Drummondville, in my riding of Drummond, people are very active in the fight against bullying. Furthermore, we have an anti-violence committee that includes several organizations. The committee decided to create a subcommittee strictly dedicated to the fight against bullying. I have the honour of sitting on that committee and attending meetings with the goal of creating an effective bullying prevention strategy in Drummondville and the greater Drummond area.
On October 1, the anti-bullying committee, my team and myself organized an evening to fight bullying. The theme was “Bullying, let's talk about it”. Over 18 committees, organizations and educators were present. I want to name them because it is really important to show the scope of the event and the importance of having people from the greater Drummond area involved in the fight against bullying, which is a very complex issue. Everyone must take action against this problem. The Rose des vents de Drummond, PANDA Mauricie/Centre du Québec, the Maison Marie Rivier, the Centre d'écoute et prévention suicide Drummond, Marie-Reine Cercle 407, the AQDR Centre-du-Québec, Commun accord, the Sûreté du Québec, Judo Drummondville, the Centre d'aide aux victimes d'actes criminels or CAVAC, the Collège Saint-Bernard, the Calacs La Passerelle, the GRIS-Mauricie/Centre-du-Québec, the Maison des jeunes de Saint-Charles and the Commission scolaire des Chênes, among others, were present.
All these people put their shoulders to the wheel to make this event a success. This allowed us to talk about bullying and to try to demystify its harmful effects. I am really proud that my community is tackling this issue.
Scientific literature shows that prevention yields better results than criminalization. It is important to realize that some of the most effective laws against bullying are provincial laws, for example in the field of education. However, the federal government must still act and show leadership on this issue. For example, cyberbullying is related to telecommunications, which is a federal jurisdiction. This national strategy to fight bullying should be developed in co-operation with the provinces, the territories, municipalities, schools, parents and young people.
The government should also follow the example of other countries that have made great strides in this regard. For example, the Finnish program KiVa is considered to be one of the world's best national programs against bullying. In Finland, the emphasis is on education. The program's objective is to influence and encourage people who witness bullying behaviour to intervene and put a stop to it. In cases of bullying, as an alternative to expelling the culprits, a dialogue takes place between the bully, his victim and other student witnesses. That is a good example of a government program in which education plays a key role in the fight against bullying.
Since 1994, the federal government in Sweden has been demonstrating leadership by requiring all schools to develop a plan to combat bullying. The United States government has set up a website that serves as a public information centre on bullying. In 2001, the American government also organized a conference and summit on bullying prevention. This event brought together many key stakeholders at all levels of government, experts, parents and young people.
It is important to see all the good things that are being done around the world to deal with bullying, which is a very serious problem. These things also help us to understand bullies better. Often bullies act the way they do because they are not comfortable in their own skin and they have low self-esteem. Witnesses often do not speak out against these offensive acts. Of course, there are also the victims, who are the first to suffer. This suffering does not always lead to suicide, since it is not always the most extraordinary and blatant suffering that is the most serious. Suicide is only the tip of the iceberg. The part of the iceberg hidden under the water is the true inner suffering of many people.
Over the years, the NDP has always been against bullying in all its forms. Unfortunately, history has shown us that the Conservatives do not really want to tackle the issue of bullying. Yet the provinces, community organizations and educational institutions need help. The federal government has to play a lead role in the fight against bullying. We hope that the government will show leadership and will finally work with the provinces, the territories, the educational community and even parents and youth. It is very important to involve youth in the fight against this very serious problem.
In fact, we are deliberately placing our youth in a vulnerable position. Stakeholders and experts are adamant about the need to promote education and prevention in order to combat bullying and cyberbullying. We need to address the root causes of the problem to better understand its complexity. To that end, the government must support initiatives to better train stakeholders from various communities.
However, the government must first reflect on the bullying phenomenon and attempt to fully comprehend it. For this reason, I am both proud and happy to support the motion moved by my colleague for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord. We need a game plan. The government must stop wasting time and dragging its feet on this issue. Faced with the escalating number of unfortunate events triggered by bullying in this country, it is urgent that we act now.
It is for all these reasons that my colleague's proposed national bullying prevention strategy is such a wonderful initiative. It reflects the values that Canadians and the whole of the NDP caucus hold dear. I think back to the late Jack Layton, who did an outstanding job throughout his career fighting bullying and the exclusion of people because they are different. Let us try to remember that we are all different, in one way or another. We are all unique, we all have our role to play and our own identity.
It is important to make sure that everyone has the chance to express themselves and to grow. I am very glad to belong to a party that has had a leader like Mr. Layton, and now Mr. Mulcair; indeed, through his vision of a country where no one is left behind, where exclusion is unheard of, Mr. Layton has cultivated our desire to fight against bullying. That is why I am very proud to support this motion. I once again congratulate my colleague for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord on his motion.