This view breaks the statement into its steps and names what each one does.
Mr. Speaker, Aside · 5 wordsthat is my fan club.Aside Claims · 4 wordsI cannot control them. Aside · 4 wordsI am really sorry.Aside Reasoning · 27 wordsI want to come back to the idea of social media platforms and the algorithms they use to attract not just young people, but adults as well. Claims · 17 wordsWe are talking about young people and saying that they are vulnerable, but often adults are too. Procedure · 4 wordsLet us face it.Procedure Claims · 39 wordsSometimes we fall asleep with our phone in our hand after spending too long watching silly videos, although we do also watch intelligent content. That said, the platforms use these algorithms to get young people addicted to their content. Procedure · 6 wordsI want to say it again.Procedure Claims · 9 wordsSometimes the content is very low quality, completely inane. Reasoning · 14 wordsIt is not going to help our young people become doctors or great researchers. Claims · 54 wordsI think it is important for this law to be enacted and it is important to hold the platforms accountable. It is also important for parents to understand their role. Parents have good intentions. I never question parents’ good intentions in raising their children, but I do think that parents are quite literally overwhelmed. Aside · 4 wordsI can see this.Aside Claims · 28 wordsThese tools, the social media and the platforms specifically designed for young people, are not necessarily from the parents’ generation. They also feel a bit overwhelmed by them. The ask · 29 wordsThat is also why Parliament needs to step in and tell parents that it is going to create a framework and that everyone is going to play a role. Promise · 24 wordsThere will be legislation.Vague promise The representatives of these platforms will be held accountable for the content they host and make accessible to young people. The ask · 17 wordsThe government needs to hold them accountable for any harmful content that ends up on their platforms. Promise · 9 wordsThey will need to be accountable for their content. Reasoning · 37 wordsThey need to understand that however much money they invest in developing tools to attract young people, they should be investing at least as much, if not more, in protecting their users from this extremely dangerous content. Procedure · 14 wordsThere is the matter of age. I know that can be a sensitive subject.Procedure Claims · 12 wordsWe have seen what is being done in other places like Australia. Procedure · 21 wordsWe have talked about it. Earlier, I heard my colleagues talking in their speeches about what is being done in Australia.Procedure Claims · 11 wordsWe are also looking at what is being done in Europe. Procedure · 32 wordsThe idea of banning social media is one of the concerns that I raised from the very beginning in the conversations that I had with all of the stakeholders I met with.Procedure Claims · 11 wordsI told them right away that I disagreed with banning it. Reasoning · 21 wordsI disagree with a ban because when a young person is banned from doing something, it basically turns into forbidden fruit. Claims · 9 wordsThey will definitely find a way around the restrictions. Aside · 10 wordsIf members do not believe me, just ask my parents.Aside Claims · 24 wordsMy parents will tell them that when a young person is banned from doing something, they will find a way to do it anyway. Aside · 7 wordsIt is true. I am kidding around, AsideClaims · 52 wordsbut anyone who has teenagers or who remembers being a teenager knows that when teens are banned from doing something, their first reaction is not to quietly accept the decision and agree that they are not allowed to do it. Their first reaction is to find a way to do it anyway, Reasoning · 76 wordsbecause they feel like going on social media. If we choose to ban young people from using social media, we are just going to end up dealing with the problem of them getting around the ban. We will also lose an opportunity to teach, train, warn and protect them, because we will simply be turning a blind eye and saying that social media has been banned and is no longer a problem. We risk losing control. Procedure · 64 wordsThat was my position before we began these extensive consultations. I must admit that I still have not reached a definitive conclusion about what solution we should adopt when it comes to restricting or prohibiting access to these platforms. I am much more open-minded today than I was at the outset, largely because I have heard perspectives that I found both compelling and relevant.Procedure Thanks · 16 wordsWith respect to a ban, my esteemed colleague from Lethbridge spoke earlier about what Australia did.Thanks Claims · 79 wordsShe rightly pointed out that restricting access to social media for youth under 16 has not been as effective as some had hoped. Many young people have kept their accounts, while others have found ways around the restrictions by using VPNs or providing false information when creating accounts. However, there has still been a significant reduction in the number of young users on these platforms in Australia. My understanding is that the numbers have fallen by 30% or 35%.1 Procedure · 14 wordsI do not have the exact figures here, but it is somewhere around there.Procedure Claims · 36 wordsThis measure was implemented in December 2025.2 It has not even been in place for a full year, yet the number of people under 16 who are active on social media has dropped by about 35%. Positioning · 11 wordsSome might say it was not a success, that it failed, PositioningReasoning · 62 wordsbut we could also look at it from a different angle and point out that there are now 30% fewer young people online. Maybe they replaced their screen time with something else, like playing outside, participating in activities, reading a book or socializing. Whatever alternative they chose, their time was not spent on social media, because they had no access to it. Aside · 24 wordsWhile it may not have been the resounding success that was hoped for, the minister is no Harry Potter.Mockery There is no magic involved.Aside Reasoning · 13 wordsI do not think that we should look on it as a failure. Claims · 16 wordsAs a measure, it can be adjusted based on the progress or observations made over time. Reasoning · 22 wordsIn my opinion, a measure implemented in 2025 that has achieved a 30% success rate should not be dismissed out of hand. Procedure · 31 wordsAll of this brings me to a conversation that really took me by surprise. I was in my riding last week, and I met some exceptional individuals in a confidential setting.Procedure Aside · 13 wordsI am sorry, but I cannot discuss the details, regardless of parliamentary privilege.Aside Thanks · 17 wordsOne of those exceptional individuals was a physician, Dr. Caroline Bissonnette-Roy, to whom I extend my regards.Thanks Claims · 23 wordsShe works in the community, specifically at the Centre de pédiatrie sociale en communauté Les Petits bonheurs, a pediatric care centre in Drummondville.3 Positioning · 14 wordsAs everyone knows, these kinds of centres work miracles. The staff there are fantastic.Positioning Procedure · 15 wordsIn a conversation with this doctor, we spoke specifically about young people in vulnerable situations.Procedure Claims · 67 wordsObviously, the parents of these young people often do not have much education and do not have a lot of time to devote to this part of their kids’ lives. She told me about her day-to-day work, about the children she saw who were psychologically affected by excessive screen time. Often, in certain situations, parents prefer to leave their kids to fend for themselves, for various reasons. Aside · 5 wordsI am not judging, obviously.Aside Procedure · 10 wordsThere are all sorts of circumstances, all sorts of contexts.Procedure Claims · 24 wordsShe is seeing this in her own community, in her practice. She is seeing the damage caused by excessive screen time for these kids. Procedure · 7 wordsWe also discussed the situation in Australia.Procedure Claims · 41 wordsAn article had just been published that discussed the relatively questionable success rate of this measure. She told me she was in favour of a total ban, based on what she was seeing, of course. She sees some very difficult cases. The ask · 19 wordsShe told me that we should ban social media entirely for anyone under the age of 16 or 18.4 Promise · 10 wordsWe need to teach young people to go play outside, Procedure · 5 wordsas I was saying earlier.Procedure Promise · 30 wordsWe need to teach them to go out, go to the park, play hockey in the street, and do activities just like we used to when we were that age. Anecdote · 9 wordsWe managed to get by just fine without cellphones.Anecdote Procedure · 10 wordsShe told me that, as far as she was concerned, ProcedureReasoning · 35 wordsif we could get children away from screens and social media, that would be a victory, regardless of how many children we save. Whether we save 20%, 30% or 40% of them does not matter. Claims · 49 wordsIt is going to be a victory because, according to her, we are literally going to save these young people. Their brains will develop normally, without being stunted by excessive screen time and exposure to the kind of content found on TikTok and other platforms that young people use. Aside · 7 wordsI thought that was an interesting perspective.Aside The ask · 35 wordsI think we need to take advantage of the minister’s open-mindedness and the government’s willingness to reach out. Let us hope that this will also be the case when the bill is studied in committee. Claims · 34 wordsThe government seems to be willing to reach out and listen to various perspectives and perhaps to adjust certain positions that may be too strict according to some or too soft according to others. Promise · 16 wordsI think we are going to end up with something that truly measures up to expectations. Aside · 5 wordsI feel strange saying this, AsidePositioning · 6 wordsbut the whole world is watching.Positioning Procedure · 24 wordsI said the same thing when we were talking about Bill C‑11, the Online Streaming Act.5 The whole world was watching us then too.Procedure Reasoning · 8 wordsSomebody needed to start regulating online streaming platforms. Claims · 19 wordsSo far, not many countries have taken the lead, shown some backbone and decided to legislate on these issues. Reasoning · 25 wordsI think we owe it to our young people to do this. We also need to do it for the benefit of the entire world. Aside · 6 wordsThat may sound a bit hyperbolic, AsideClaims · 6 wordsbut I think it is true. The ask · 20 wordsSuffice it to say that we need to adopt robust, binding measures for the digital companies that control these algorithms, Reasoning · 14 wordswhich we now know are so harmful to the development of our young people. Promise · 27 wordsWe need to show that we will not back down and that we are going to set up a system that will hold the right people accountable.Vague promise Procedure · 18 wordsWhen I say that, I am not just talking about the platforms. I am also talking about parents, ProcedurePromise · 36 wordsbecause we need to give them the best tools we can. As legislators, we absolutely must stand up and do something to try to reverse these negative side effects that are literally destroying an entire generation.Vague promise Positioning · 10 wordsI think this is a topic we feel passionately about.Positioning Claims · 28 wordsWe will also be able to discuss video games, which are another place where young people get exposed to all kinds of content through video game chat platforms.Partly on point Reasoning · 12 wordsWe are going to have to address a lot of different issues. Procedure · 11 wordsI am really looking forward to studying this bill in committee.Procedure Claims · 7 wordsBill C-34 is an extremely important bill. Reasoning · 8 wordsIt places a heavy responsibility on our shoulders, Claims · 11 wordsand we must carry out this work as responsibly as possible.
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