Debates of Oct. 29th, 2026

Safe Social Media Act

[Frank Caputo, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague has been a wonderful addition to our B.C. caucus and our federal caucus here in the 45th Parliament.

I have read a number of charter statements, and I am not always impressed. I would say that sometimes they are deficient. When we start talking about how the charter applies to things that no longer exist, I think that jeopardizes what the rule of law says should be unparalleled transparency. If we do not know what might be there in regulation, how can we say how the charter is going to apply?

[Marilyn Gladu, Liberal, Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise in the House. Today, I will be speaking about Bill C-34, but before I begin, I want to take a moment to honour the memory of Chief Warrant Officer Ron Nutt, from my riding, who served in the 1st Hussars for over 30 years and sadly passed away at age 67. Taken too soon, he was a quiet, gentle man, but a really intelligent, forceful human being. He will be sorely missed.

When it comes to Bill C-34, I can tell members that I have been in Parliament for quite some time, and this is the third version we have seen of the bill. I am really happy. The first two were terrible, but this one is much better. My colleague, the member for Calgary Nose Hill, tabled a private member's bill on this topic, because I think we all agree that we need to protect children from online harms. That private member's bill, Bill C-216, informed a lot of the work of this one, which is definitely helpful.

What the bill would do is make what is illegal today in the real world illegal in the digital world. That is a simplification, but it is essentially what is happening. We really need to protect our children and ourselves because the rise in online harm has been unbelievable. In 2023, half of students were experiencing online bullying. In 2024, police reported 19,516 instances of online child exploitation, an increase of 59% over the previous year and an increase of 500% since 2014. In terms of harms, we see that they are not just online. They are becoming physical and mental harms.

I am still struck and saddened by what happened to Amanda Todd and Rehtaeh Parsons. We studied this the first year I was elected. These girls had, without their consent, intimate images of them put up on Facebook, and as a result, they both took their own lives. It is just terrible. This is where online harm can become physical harm.

We also see the impact on our children. The pandemic was a time when many people spent more time online and could not go outside. Young people's depression doubled. Their anxiety quadrupled. The suicide rate among young people doubled as well. Online harms are a real deal for our kids, and we all want to protect our kids.

Each parliamentarian in the House has probably experienced online vitriol aimed at them. Certainly I have. It was awful when I started, but I have seen nothing like what I saw in the last year. These are harms. These things are illegal, and we have to address them.

When it comes to online harm, people will ask what it really is. The things that are defined in the bill include content that sexually victimizes a child or revictimizes a survivor, intimate content communicated without consent, content that induces a child to harm themselves, content used to bully a child, content that foments extreme hatred, content that incites violence, and terrorism or violent extremism content. Essentially, those things would be covered.

There have been concerns expressed about the freedom of expression and some of the charter rights. Everyone will know that I am a passionate defender of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and certainly the government is well aware that people are concerned about who is going to determine what can be said and what cannot be said. We have a good definition of hate speech, which has been recently improved, but we need to make sure that everything is clear and that we not have overreach happen. In terms of privacy, I have also heard the concerns there. Bill C-36 would address many of the concerns that I have heard raised in debate today.

In addition to that, people have talked about the need for transparency. I want to be clear about the digital commission that would be put in place. Obviously, if we are going to try to do something about online harms, we need somebody whose job it is to respond when bad behaviour is pointed out and come up with a remedy. That is why we want to take the idea from Bill C-216 to put the onus on service providers to make sure they are enforcing the standards. However, this digital commission, which would have three to five experts in the area, would be responsible for enforcing the laws that are described, and every year it would report to the minister and produce a report that would be tabled here in Parliament. Then Parliament could have oversight to make sure that it is working, that there are no abuses and that we are comfortable with where it is headed.

There have also been discussions about under-16 age verification. Different techniques can be used, and I look forward to the discussions at committee reviewing what other countries have done and reviewing what people think is a better method to ensure age verification. There is everything from uploading an ID, which some people think is a privacy violation, to using AI to guess how old someone is. That is getting very accurate, but I do not want it to guess how old I am, so I will stop there.

The other thing we have to do is be realistic. We know that when Australia implemented this, 70% of kids under 16 found a way around the system, so this will probably happen. It is important to say what is bad behaviour, say it is illegal and put mechanisms in place to enforce the rule of law, but we will have to deal with how we as parents and legislators encourage kids not to expose themselves at a young age to what is really the wild west of the Internet, where content that they should not be seeing is showing up. We know it is harmful to them.

I think about when I grew up. I did not even have a TV until I was eight. I never had a cellphone until I was 30. There would be some advantage to not having the social harms that kids have to deal with when their maturity and the confidence they have in themselves are not yet developed.

Let us talk a bit about what the safety commission would do. It would review the safety plans that are prepared and published for the different social media AI chatbot services. It would evaluate whether the age verification mechanism that the services are using is adequate. It would maintain transparency from both social media and chatbot platforms in publishing their policies and thresholds for notifying the RCMP, police or other law enforcement. Let us keep in mind that what is illegal in the real world would be illegal digitally, but the people who would follow up on that would not be in the digital safety commission; they would be the police of jurisdiction in that area. The commission would also provide support for victims of online harms and users of online services, and it would have the ability to issue fines to platforms of up to 3% of their global revenue.

I have a lot of respect for the member for Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. He has encouraged the government to consider more serious sentencing, especially in cases of child luring and sexual exploitation. I think the government should take that into consideration.

There are some potential myths we have heard about this bill because of some of the previous versions that were not great. Let me just quickly look to those. One is that the government would get access to our private data. That would be specifically excluded; that would not happen. I already talked about the freedom of speech and already talked about the other concerns. I have also heard from the Bloc the concern that this bill would violate provincial jurisdiction. I look forward to hearing those discussions at committee. They have implemented something with age 14, so the discussion of what age it should be is a very good discussion.

With that, I would be happy to answer any questions.

[Amarjeet Gill, Conservative, Brampton West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, right at the beginning, the member said that this is a better bill, and I think when it comes to children, we need the best. Under the seven categories of harmful content, Bill C-34 lists “content used to bully a child”. There is currently no legal definition of bullying. I would like to ask the member if she can define what bullying is and provide an example.

[Marilyn Gladu, Liberal, Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am not a lawyer, so I highly recommend having a discussion with the member for Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola because he will know the answer to that, but I believe there is a bullying definition used in the law.

I would reiterate that some of the types of bullying we see use sexual images, for example, as in the Amanda Todd and Rehtaeh Parsons examples. I would point the member to the Twitter feed about me this past year if he wants to see what bullying looks like.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette—Manawan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want congratulate my hon. colleague on her speech. It was very substantive. Of course, I am sorry that she had to endure so much harassment on social media. That is truly unacceptable.

At the end of her speech, she touched on several of the concerns that have been raised during this debate, including respect for areas of provincial jurisdiction, respect for Quebec and the provinces and, for example, flexibility regarding age.

In her view, does the bill, in its current form, provide sufficient flexibility? If, as she said, amendments were proposed during the committee study, would her party be open to improving the bill in this regard?

[Marilyn Gladu, Liberal, Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sufficiently familiar with the situation in Quebec.

I believe that Quebec has more experience with this issue, and I would be very pleased to see amendments tabled in committee.

[Marianne Dandurand, Liberal, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I first want to commend my colleague from Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong for her outstanding work.

I was honestly quite touched to hear her talk about her experience. She has been very courageous in all of this. I am very pleased to have her on our team. As I said, she is doing a great job.

That said, she mentioned at the beginning of her speech that there were other versions of this legislation that were not as good as this one. I would like her to tell us about the main ways in which this bill improves on them and what she likes most about this version of this very important bill.

[Marilyn Gladu, Liberal, Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there was something unacceptable in the previous versions.

The first two versions said that if somebody thought a person was going to commit a hate crime in the future, that person could be put in prison for up to 25 years. That seemed, to me, very much like the movie Minority Report. It is certainly not charter-compliant, so I am glad to see that it was removed.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I respect enormously the fact that the member is an engineer. I am a lawyer. I look at this bill and ask why we do not tighten it to create a real incentive for tech giants to live up to the duty to protect our children, enforceable by law. By attaching that duty specifically to the directors of the companies, they would feel a real incentive to avoid ending up with strict liability and going to jail if a child in Canada is harmed.

I want to put forward amendments to that effect when we get to committee. I will vote for the bill to get to committee. We need to tackle this. I wonder if she has any thoughts on the idea of tightening up the punishments.

[Marilyn Gladu, Liberal, Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as an engineer, I am very detail-oriented in general. I would say the more detail we can put in the bill and not leave to regulators or bureaucrats, the better. I look forward to the amendments the member opposite will bring to committee.

[Élisabeth Brière, Liberal, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am truly grateful for this opportunity to speak to a topic that matters so much to me and to our fellow citizens. The digital safety act is not a response to some naive or made-up concern, nor are the proposals within it based on wishful thinking. It addresses a need that Canadians have been telling us about for some time. The whole world must contend with new realities, and it is time for our country to evolve and adapt to those realities. There is no doubt these challenges will keep getting bigger as technology evolves and as the people we represent require protection from new threats.

Let us wait no longer. Let us show that Canada knows how to evolve with the times. Let us also demonstrate, once again, what Canada is made of: We act for the good of all, including our young people.

Other G7 countries have passed legislation in response to this threat targeting our young people. For example, Australia has already enacted legislation raising the minimum age for social media access to 16. Here in this country, all Canadians, including parents and guardians, expect us to take action too.

Just as concerns about teenagers' access to social media platforms are well founded, the age proposed to allow them to access these platforms is also not random. It has been shown that the digital landscape is not safe for children under 16. For these children, the scales are more likely to tip towards harms than benefits. Setting a limit for children under 16 is consistent with scientific research, as well as with what other jurisdictions around the world have done.

Let me share some statistics.

In 2023, Canadian police recorded 19,516 incidents of online child sexual exploitation over the course of the year. Again, there were 19,516 incidents of online child sexual exploitation over a 12‑month period in our country. That amounts to more than two cases per hour, every hour, over one year. That is unacceptable and alarming. This was a 59% increase over the previous year and a 500% increase over just a few years. We can therefore conclude that the longer we wait before taking real and effective action to put an end to this type of appalling behaviour, the more it will increase exponentially.

We must work together to address this threat, because there is still time. Bill C-34 is not a quick fix or a band-aid solution. Bill C‑34 is not just about demonstrating that we are fulfilling our duty to protect Canada's young people. It is supported by many expert organizations, including the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, the Canadian Paediatric Society, Kids Help Phone and the youth advocacy sector. I would also note that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child encourages the protection of young people from information or material that is injurious to their well-being. Bill C‑34 will ensure that we are in compliance with international ethical standards.

I would like to come back to some statistics. While social media cannot be blamed for everything, it is clear that its impact extends beyond physical safety of our kids, because it also has an impact on their mental health. Rates of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation have risen exponentially among young Canadians over the past year. I would like to reiterate some of the figures my colleagues have already highlighted. Among Canadians aged 15 to 24, rates of depression have doubled, while rates of anxiety have quadrupled. Without a robust bill such as Bill C-34, these statistics will continue to rise. These statistics represent the next generation of Canadians and the impact this has on their individual life paths.

I do not have enough time today to provide all the statistics on this subject. For example, I did not mention that one in four young people between the ages of 12 and 17 in this country report having been cyber-bullied. One in four is a lot. We cannot allow this situation to keep getting worse. Instead, we should help young people experience this brief period of their lives in safety, as most of us had the opportunity to do, without being exposed to the same level of harm they face today. At the very least, the far more limited exposure many of us experienced likely spared us some of the dangers and mental health challenges. Now is the time to step up and demonstrate that we care about our children.

I would also like to acknowledge my riding's efforts in this regard. Sherbrooke is at the forefront of efforts to protect young people online. One notable local initiative was spearheaded by a group of law students at the Université de Sherbrooke. Last spring, they drafted a bill to address the harmful effects of excessive screen time on young people. Among other things, the bill would ban access to Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat for those under 16. During a visit to the legislative buildings in Quebec City, the students said that they specifically targeted these apps because they are addictive. They also drew parallels with the arguments that led to the prohibition of alcohol and tobacco for minors.

The Economy

[Aslam Rana, Liberal, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as we approach November 5, when our government will table budget 2026, I want to highlight what we have achieved through our previous budget. We removed the consumer carbon tax, introduced a GST rebate for first-time homebuyers, cut taxes for the middle class, made the national school food program permanent, hired 1,000 CBSA and 1,000 RCMP officers, introduced the Canada groceries and essentials benefit, provided $25 billion in support for workers impacted by tariffs and invested $1.2 billion to protect our oceans.

A coalition of 19 Filipino Canadian organizations from every province recently submitted the community's first unified pre-budget submission. As the member of Parliament for Hamilton Centre, which has a vibrant and integral Filipino community, I look forward to budget 2026 and the opportunities it will create for Filipino Canadians and all Canadians.

Religious Freedom

[Chak Au, Conservative, Richmond Centre—Marpole, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as Remembrance Day approaches, we honour those who sacrifice for our freedom. In the trenches, countless soldiers find hope and courage through their faith in God, yet the Liberal government has directed military chaplains to exclude references to God from prayers at public ceremonies. Faith in God has been a cornerstone of our country since Confederation, with roots in much older traditions. Our charter recognizes the supremacy of God. Our anthem declares, “God keep our land glorious and free”. How can we sing those words, yet bar chaplains from invoking God at our ceremonies?

Prayers comfort those who serve and those families who grieve. We must respect people of every faith and those of none. No one should be forced to pray, but there must be room for prayer. The Liberal government should respect the gratitude to God expressed by so many veterans and reverse—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Halifax.

Clean50 Awards

[Shannon Miedema, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, today I stand to recognize some of Canada's climate champions, this year's Clean50 honourees. Each year, the Clean50 awards celebrate Canada's sustainability heroes, recognizing the impact that individuals, community leaders, businesses and organizations have in addressing the climate crisis.

I am proud to be an alumni of this program. As we continue to experience the worsening impacts of climate change, it is more important than ever that we support our innovators and our trailblazers. Amazingly, over 10% of this year's Clean50 winners are based in Nova Scotia, some of whom I know well and have worked with.

I congratulate and welcome all of this year's honourees to the Clean50 family. Let us build our path to net zero together.

Ontario Municipal Elections

[Terry Dowdall, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as a former mayor myself, I want to congratulate those elected in Simcoe—Grey in this week's municipal elections.

In the town of Blue Mountains, there is Mayor Moreau, Deputy Mayor Gilliland and councillors McKinlay, Porter, Loney, Dewitt and McLeod. In Collingwood, there is Mayor Hamlin, Deputy Mayor Potts and councillors Ferrigan, MacCulloch, Perry, Baines, McCrimmon, McLeod and Ring. In Wasaga Beach, there is Mayor Smith, Deputy Mayor Foley and councillors Graves, Dileo, White, Timms and Belanger. In Clearview, there is Mayor McArthur, Deputy Mayor McGillvray and councillors Houghton, Walters, Broderick, Walker and Brooks. In Adjala-Tosorontio, there is Mayor Anderson, Deputy Mayor Lachs and councillors Mason, Cox, Reiber, Patterson and Gervasi. Finally, in Essa, there is Mayor Macdonald, Deputy Mayor Smith and councillors Maltby, Sander and Kiezebrink.

I want to say best wishes and a big thank you to everyone who shared their vision and put their name on the ballot.

Orléans

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Orléans, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on October 14, I was pleased to join the Carleton District School Board and the Mulroney family for the official opening of the Brian Mulroney Elementary School in Orléans. This new English public school will welcome nearly 700 students, inspiring future generations to learn, lead and succeed.

As we mark Small Business Week, I also wanted to recognize the local small businesses that are the backbone of Orléans' economy, creating jobs, supporting families and strengthening our community.

Finally, Orléans has much to celebrate. Two outstanding residents were recently recognized for their contributions. Gipsy Ghosh received the 2026 Famous 5 Ottawa award, while Amanda Kilabuk received the Governor General’s Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case. Their leadership and dedication inspire others and make our community proud.

Please join me in congratulating Gipsy and Amanda on these well-deserved honours.

Recognition of Community Service

[Eric Duncan, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—Glengarry, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Ellen Crothers, a wonderful volunteer in S, D and G, for her outstanding community leadership and heartfelt service. Ellen was recently named the recipient of the Community Service Award at South Glengarry's business and community awards gala. Through the Mathew Crothers memorial charity, founded in honour of her son, she has transformed personal loss into lasting support for local families. Her dedication embodies the spirit and community values recognized by the award.

Mathew's Toy Mountain has, for two decades, collected donations and gifts for children in need and supported patients at CHEO. We are looking forward to the upcoming gala on November 7 to support the charity's work. Mathew's legacy is certainly being carried on through this vital work by Ellen and a great network of local supporters and donors.

I offer congratulations and thanks to Ellen. Mathew would be so proud to know of all the work being done in his memory.

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Scarborough—Woburn, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week, history was made on the Hill as we—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

I know that sometimes the noise comes from outside the walls of the chamber, but I think now it is coming from inside the chamber.

I will let the hon. member start over.

Filipino-Canadian Coalition

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Scarborough—Woburn, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week, history was made here at the House of Commons as we had the Filipino-Canadian Coalition, representing 19 national organizations from across Canada, from 10 provinces and one territory, come to talk about how to unlock the full potential and talent found within the Filipino community.

We know that the Filipino community has pushed so much to build this country economically and socially, and to build our cultural fabric. We are looking for ways to support it by building community infrastructure to unlock that talent. I will be working with the community to look for ways to build, and it wants to commit to building a stronger country, building Canada strong.

My thanks go to the Filipino-Canadian Coalition for all the work it is doing, bringing this network here to the House of Commons and building the Filipino community here in Canada.

Policy Rate

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L’Érable—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Canadians received very bad news. The Bank of Canada has to raise the policy rate to 2.5%. That is the first increase in three years. This time, the Prime Minister cannot blame the old Liberal government.

In its report, the Bank of Canada indicates that grocery prices will increase more quickly in 2027 because of rising energy costs that are reverberating throughout the food supply chains. The bank also points out that rising diesel prices are driving up costs for farmers.

The Conservatives have been saying that for a while now. We have to develop our natural resources, eliminate federal fuel taxes to bring prices down, and give families a chance.

In practical terms, what do these increases mean for families? They mean higher mortgage payments, higher grocery prices, higher gas prices, and less money in families' pockets.

What is the Prime Minister, a former top banker, gearing up to do? He plans to spend, spend, spend, run deficits and add even more to the debt.

One thing is for sure: 11 years of Liberal rule has been quite costly.

Canada-EU Summit

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this morning, representatives of thousands of newspapers and magazines from both sides of the Atlantic wrote to Canada and the European Union. They are calling on them to use the upcoming summit as an opportunity to commit to regulating digital platforms and the use of AI. They are calling for the summit's final statement to include “a firm, shared commitment to free, independent, pluralistic and sustainable media and reliable professional journalism, underpinned by enabling frameworks.”

They also call on Canada and Europe to promote “a transparent AI ecosystem that respects intellectual property rights, supports licensing and appropriate remuneration, and enables creators, publishers and other cultural and creative businesses to control and realise the value of their works.”

Canadian and European media are highlighting the most significant global challenges for the future of culture and news. The Prime Minister must raise these issues at the Canada-EU summit today.

Naval Heritage Initiative

[Ernie Klassen, Liberal, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I recognize an important Canadian naval heritage initiative marking the 25th anniversary of Operation Apollo and the events of September 11, 2001.

A new project mapping Canada's naval response to 9/11 in the Middle East, HMCS Vancouver's mission for Operation Apollo, will digitally preserve and share a critical chapter of our nation's military history. Supported by Veterans Affairs, this initiative is transforming historical ship logbooks into an interactive, web-based map documenting HMCS Vancouver's 79 days in the North Arabian Sea.

I would like to recognize Blue Horizon Geomatics and my constituent, Theresa Fingler, whose experience aboard HMCS Vancouver brings exceptional depth and authenticity to the project. This initiative honours our veterans and ensures that their service is never forgotten.

Religious Freedom

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we are heartbroken by the horrific bombing at St. George's Greek Orthodox Church in Jordan. Innocent lives were taken in a sacred moment of worship in a place that should have been a sanctuary. We grieve with the families of the people killed, and we pray for the wounded and for the community shaken to its core.

This attack is a painful reminder that the persecution of Christians is growing around the world. Freedom of worship is a fundamental human right, yet millions of believers, including here in Canada, still face violence, discrimination and fear simply for practising their faith.

Canada must stand firmly for religious freedom, demand justice for victims and work to protect vulnerable faith communities wherever they are threatened. Terror will not silence a prayer, and hatred will not extinguish faith.

Our prayers and unwavering solidarity remain with the victims, their families and persecuted Christians everywhere.