Alexis Deschênes

“Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of those I represent in Winnipeg South Centre. I do want to begin by thanking my colleague from Burlington for an exceptional speech. She did a great job of providing a framework and a foundational conceptualization of what we are facing here and why this piece of legislation is so necessary. I have talked often, when I have had the honour of rising in the House, about my time as a teacher. I started as a grade 6 French immersion educator at École Robert H. Smith. I can still remember at 3:30 on the first day of school putting my head down on the table and wondering how I was going to get through it. It turns out I did, and I had the privilege of going on from there to be a high school teacher and a high school principal. It was through about a decade in the public education system that I got to know what mattered to kids, what they were interested in, what they were curious about, what challenges they faced and their opportunities. Of course, by extension, I had the privilege of being able to work with so many of their families as well. I stand here today as well, as a very proud uncle, not only to my own niece through blood, but to so many of my friends’ children, many of whom are growing up now, in an age that looks very different than it did when my colleague from Burlington and I were young. That reality is one that is constantly shifting. The nature of the threats faced in our society, particularly by young people, are more dynamic, they are more sophisticated, and they are more targeted and complicated than they were in the past. By virtue of changes in technology, and the emergence of social media and the strong role that it is playing in our society, we have had to re-evaluate the safeguards that we must put in place as a society to ensure that, while we have access to these incredible technologies that have the potential in so many ways to do good, we are aware of the harms that they can create and are creating. I am mindful of an indigenous scholar named Dr. Martin Brokenleg, whom I studied a bit when I was the principal of a school called Maples Met in Winnipeg. The circle of courage is based on these four ideas of what is important in the lives of young people. They are focusing on mastery, generosity, independence and belonging. In relation to what we are talking about here, it is independence and belonging that are so critical in the frame of Bill C-34. Young people want to belong, and at the same time, they want to be independent. Anyone who is around young people, particularly teenagers, will know that there comes a time when they no longer want mom or dad to drop them off at school in sight of kids, or a time when they want to be able to go to the mall alone with their friends, and they want to have that independence. However, there is a variety of different things out there in the online world in particular, that we ought to be mindful of when we are engaging with young people about that independence that they are seeking. I can remember a superintendent of mine once telling the story of a fight that broke out in the school, and although in the early moments of the fight the kids were all cheering and doing what young teenagers often do when there is a physical altercation, which was ego and bravado taking place, when the principal finally did show up, the students asked what took them so long. In other words, it happens often with young people that, at the same time as they are holding our hand tightly to tell us to stay, they are pulling away from us. This reminds me of the tension that exists in terms of the responsibilities that we have as adults and as lawmakers in our country to provide the guidance, support and love that is necessary for young people to grow and develop into independent young people, while at the same time ensuring that we are responsible for keeping them safe. This brings me to what we have heard in relation to some of the challenges that are ongoing right now vis-à-vis social media and online platforms. I have received calls from countless parents, men and women, regardless of the demographic that they may represent socio-economically, who have called to say that they are scared for what their children are exposed to online, and that they expect the government is going to do something about it. I have received calls from students, many of whom I have met with in the hallways, libraries and theatres of their schools, who have talked about their resistance to social media and to a variety of other online platforms that they feel are actually taking away from the authenticity of their lived experiences. I have heard from experts. Just this past weekend in my office, I was really proud to welcome an expert panel of unbelievable community members to talk about the different challenges we face. I want to take the opportunity to give credit to Dr. Michelle Warren, a clinical psychologist who was there and who spoke about the work she does with young people in particular who are facing anxiety and depression by virtue of some of the harmful things they are exposed to online. There was also Monique St. Germain, who represents the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, which is located in my riding and is something I am very proud of. It is a world leader in eradicating the distribution of illegal and damaging sexual images of children online. It is fully behind the government in terms of its support for the measures embedded in Bill C-34. I was also joined by Cordella Friesen, who serves as the head of the YMCA in Winnipeg. They work with young people on a daily basis and were there to share stories they have heard from folks who use their services. Sharon Labossiere, Colleen Nelson and Laura Thomas are each great educators in their own right who took time to tell us about what they are seeing in schools and who reinforced the need for us to act. The question then becomes what we should do about this. We have heard the calls from parents, from young people and from experts that it is time for us to act. Bill C-34 would do this in a number of ways. One that has often been talked about in the context of this debate and outside the walls of the chamber has to do with placing limitations on social media. I know that there have been some criticisms of other jurisdictions, most noteworthy being Australia, that have taken some steps in order to limit the harms that are being caused by too much time online, and that there have been some instances where young people are finding ways around them. I think my colleague, the member for Burlington, did an excellent job of explaining that notwithstanding those challenges, which of course will evolve over time, they cannot alone be the justification for why we do not start to move forward today. I think ensuring that there is less time spent on these platforms for people at vulnerable ages is going to be very important. I will note that I come from a province that has put a policy in place to ban cellphone use in schools. I have heard overwhelmingly from teachers, principals, parents and young people that this has had a positive impact on their experience in school. I think there is something for us to take from that feedback and from those experiences in relation to Bill C-34. Bill C-34 is also about accountability that would lead to real penalties and that will hold accountable in the way they ought to be held accountable those who are responsible for designing and maintaining unsafe platforms online, which is to say that we would create a regulator. Of course, through a regulatory framework and ongoing dialogue in the chamber and beyond, after the passage, I hope, of this legislation, we would figure out exactly how that would come to be. The important piece is that there would be accountability. Social media platforms and other online platforms that care more about the bottom line than they do about the health, well-being and safety of our children would be held accountable. They would be held accountable not just through the proverbial slap on the wrist but through real financial and other lawful penalties that would send the very strong message that is necessary for them to understand we are serious. I am very proud to be part of a government that is putting forward a bill that would address these serious concerns at a moment in time where it is incumbent upon us, as the Parliament of this wonderful country, to take action that will keep our young people safe.”