Mr. Speaker, to begin with, I would like to acknowledge my colleagues who spoke before me on this bill, which I consider to be one of the most important bills before this Parliament. It is extremely important, but also extremely overdue. This comes as no surprise, because with this government, everything happens a little too late, everything happens a little too hastily, and everything is handled rather clumsily at times.
I must say that Bill C-34 has several positive aspects, but above all, it raises a number of points for discussion. I really appreciated the minister's openness at the outset, when he introduced this bill in the House in June. His first instinct after introducing it was to reach out and say that he would love to talk about it, to discuss it, because he would like to know where we stand on the issue, what our position is, and how we could work together to improve the bill. I presume he took the same approach with colleagues from other parties in the House.
It is that spirit of openness that leads to well-crafted legislation that takes into account different perspectives and beliefs. It also enables us, as parliamentarians, to make our voices heard and to represent our constituents by consulting them, as my colleague from Lethbridge said earlier. She mentioned that she had met with constituents over the summer and discussed the issues addressed by this bill. Many parents have expressed concerns, often feeling overwhelmed by technologies that literally captivate our children and can take them places we dare not imagine. In fact, parents are often unaware of what their children are exposed to until it is too late.
The government should not wait for tragedy to strike before taking action on the toxic content found online. The government should not wait for such events to occur before introducing legislation. Despite the truly shocking and tragic incidents that have occurred over the last few years, the government still dragged its feet. It waited until 2026 to bring forward legislation aimed at addressing online content that is harmful to young social media users in particular.
I would remind members that, in the previous Parliament, we had Bill C-63, an omnibus bill that we tried to split up. We tried to split the bill so that we could quickly pass part 1, which was basically in the same spirit as Bill C-34. Most members of the House thought that we could come to an agreement on that part, so we said, let us split the bill, take care of the part that can be dealt with quickly and work together like adults.
I think we all feel this issue transcends party lines. After all, we are talking about young people's safety, our children's future, and how to keep them safe as they navigate an environment that we do not even fully understand ourselves. It was high time that we addressed this issue, so I welcome the introduction of Bill C-34, even though there are still a lot of things that need to be discussed.
The Bloc Québécois is open to this legislation. As I just said, and I think it is rather clear, we agree with the principle of the bill. Obviously, like everyone here, and especially as parents, we care a lot about these issues and are deeply concerned about them.
I have teenagers who spend far too much time on screens, especially on their phones and on platforms like Snapchat, Instagram and obviously TikTok, which I am not happy about. They are exposed to content over which I have little or no control. That troubles me as a parent.
Where do we draw the line? How do we supervise our children without stopping them from participating in activities that are part of their social life these days? Whether we like it or not, whether we think it is a good idea or not, a big part of their life happens on these platforms. It is their social network, unfortunately. The name says it all. That damned name says it all. It is a social network that we, as parents and legislators, have a duty to supervise, but we also have a duty to do more to hold the platforms accountable. I will come back to that.
I would like to share a few figures and statistics that illustrate the extent to which screens and social media have become a part of our lives, particularly among young people. Some 50% of children aged seven to 11 have access to a mobile device and use it on a daily basis. Again, that is one in two children aged seven to 11. Some 83% of children from grade 4 to the end of high school have a mobile device, which is pretty much everyone, and 100% of young people aged 15 and over use the Internet. Kids spend an average of three to five hours a day in front of a screen for entertainment, and most of that time is without parental supervision. That means they are free to go pretty much anywhere the social media platform or website they are using allows them. I think these figures should give any parent cause for concern, worry and even alarm.
Why do we need legislation? Why do we have to legislate on this issue? First, as I said a moment ago, we have a role to play as legislators because this is not only a societal issue, but a health issue as well. We must not overlook a single tool. In this case, our tool is our ability to draft and vote on laws and work as hard as possible to ensure that our laws are minimally imperfect and meet our objective as much as possible. As the saying goes, “It takes a village to raise a child”. Imagine social media as a supercity; it takes everyone to navigate it and regulate it safely.
There is an important reality that we need to understand, one that I have explored in some depth through discussions with stakeholders in this sector. The Bloc Québécois has met with a number of them, as have my colleagues. In fact, the critics from the various parties have met with many of the same people. What has become clear to me is the extent to which social media is designed to captivate, to literally capture people's attention and keep it for as long as possible. That is their business model. That is how these platforms generate revenue. It is similar to television, where they try to get the best viewing numbers. Social media operates on the same principle. They use algorithms as a tool to attract young people and keep them engaged. Algorithms are a trap. They act like a tunnel, guiding users to destinations they could never have anticipated when they first set off down that path.
Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of noise. Might I ask that you put a stop—