Grant Jackson

“Madam Speaker, I am rising today to address an issue that has been on the minds of concerned parents both in King—Vaughan and across this country. In this increasingly digital and connected world, it has become more important than ever to ensure that our children are able to access the Internet in a safe manner that is beneficial to their well-being. We are at a tipping point where access to age-inappropriate content and increasingly addictive social media algorithms run the risk of corrupting the minds of our youth and damaging their mental health. Canadian parents are well-meaning and, as we all do, want the absolute best for their children. Parents are seeing the effects that unfiltered access to all corners of the Internet can have on their children in real time. They are overwhelmed and are trying their best to keep their children safe from online harms, but many feel that they are fighting a losing battle and need help. What are average parents supposed to do to keep up with the rapid development and progress made by big tech companies, making all forms of content more and more accessible online? The statistics on online harm that children are exposed to are staggering. Twenty-five per cent of Canadian youth between the ages of 12 and 17 have reported experiencing cyber-bullying, which is correlated with a number of serious mental health considerations for our youth, who are already struggling. Police reported an increase in the sexual exploitation of children online of 347% between 2014 and 2024, a figure that both stuns us and fills us with disgust. We have seen real-world examples of the impact that these figures have in the country. The heartbreaking example of Amanda Todd some years ago, who tragically died by suicide following sexual exploitation and cyber-bullying on online, is especially important to this discussion. It is critical that we give her and other young people like her justice. Our youth are living more and more digitally forward lives and, in the vast majority of cases, are more tech-conscious than their well-intentioned parents. However, having technological capability does not necessarily mean they are safe from vulnerability. One of the benefits of growing older is growing wiser and knowing when someone is trying to take advantage of us. Social media algorithms are specifically targeted to keep us engaged and take advantage of our addiction to their apps. These digital world interactions can have real-world consequences for our youth, whether that comes in the form of cyber-bullying, sexual exploitation, content that imposes unrealistic and damaging body image standards, or exposure to violence and pornography. I am a mother and a grandmother. I know first-hand how important it is to protect and provide for our children. I know what it is like to want our children to have a better life than we had and to prepare them as best as possible for life’s many challenges. Parents today are in an increasingly difficult situation, and I worry about the future of my own grandchildren. I want my grandchildren to have a social and fulfilling life, not one in which their self-worth is determined by what they see and read on social media. As parents, we can set all the guardrails and house rules on technology we want, but we can only do so much to fully protect them, especially when removing devices and removing all access are not an option. What then? What can we do to protect our kids? As legislators, we have a unique and profound responsibility to give parents all the tools that we as parliamentarians can. We also have the unique ability to provide those tools. Parents know what is best for their children and should be empowered when making decisions in their children’s best interest. We cannot expect them to do all the work in keeping their kids safe. These parents are asking for our help. As legislators, we need to comply. A survey by Angus Reid showed that 75% of Canadians, and 70% of Canadians whose children live in the home, are in support of a ban on social media use for youth under 16, but 72% of Canadians believe parents should hold the primary responsibility for regulating the social media use in accordance with their own parenting policies. Parliament should not tell parents how to raise their children, but Parliament should be involved in helping parents keep their children safe on the Internet. We need to ensure that whatever the House puts forward in terms of solutions is effective and minimally restrictive on the freedoms of Canadians. We need to ensure that whatever is put forward does not have the unintended effect of forcing children into spaces that are even more unregulated, unmonitored and dangerous. We need to hold technology companies accountable for what children have access to on their platforms, and we need to work with them to ensure that protection of children is at the forefront of their internal policies. How can we make sure that any future policy actually requires that technology companies take responsibility for our children’s safety on their apps and does not simply keep them chained to social media to generate more revenue? There need to be strong penalties for a corporation that fails to protect our children, and Parliament needs to ensure that the relevant authorities are empowered to enforce these penalties. We have seen the results of some similar legislation in other Commonwealth countries, like Australia and the United Kingdom. In Australia, for example, restrictions on Internet usage did not have a strong effect on access. As of three months after the bill was passed, 70% of children kept accessing the Internet and their accounts, and there was no reduction in reports of online harm. What can we, as legislators, do to make sure that any legislation in Canada will actually make a difference? Kids are tech-savvy, and they will find the bypasses if we let them. VPNs, or virtual private networks, are often used to bypass age- or location-based restrictions, and statistics in countries with this kind of legislation show that VPN usage has gone up considerably. How can our legislation address this? Is it within our power to curtail VPN usage if the bill is passed? How are we going to actually enforce age-based restrictions on certain content? Other comparable legislative bodies have required submission of government-issued ID. What would this mean for the privacy concerns of Canadians, who would be placing their sensitive personal information in the hands of a private corporation, many of which may not even be based in Canada? What are they supposed to do when there is a data breach and their information is released to all kinds of bad actors? One thing is certain, which is that the legislation will need a great deal of scrutiny and careful consideration, which Parliament should be equipped and prepared for. The Conservative Party wants nothing more than to keep Canadian children safe, healthy and strong. Conservatives in the House will do everything they can to ensure that any future legislation protects kids from cyber-bullying, social media addiction, explicit content, sexual exploitation and bad actors online while also empowering parents to retain their decision-making power and protecting the privacy interests and freedoms of all Canadians.”