“Witnesses told our committee that we need better laws against online violence, anti-feminism, and the harms of artificial intelligence on women. This bill might not solve everything. I want to know how it will protect women and girls from these problems.”

“Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a comment and ask a question. The Standing Committee on the Status of Women’s last two studies have addressed the issue of social media. When we looked at this issue as part of our study on the rise of masculinism and anti-feminism, witnesses told us that we needed to find a way to better legislate online behaviour, such as cyber-violence. The committee is currently conducting a study on the disproportionate impact of AI on women. People shared their concerns with us about social media and AI, and they spoke about Bill C-34. This bill may not solve everything. How will Bill C-34 help with rise of masculinism and anti-feminism and with the disproportionate impact of AI on women and girls?”

“This bill only sets out broad ideas and leaves the hard details to a new government commission. Parliament should study and settle these difficult issues directly instead of handing that power over to unelected officials. I want to know if my colleague agrees.”

“Madam Speaker, the bill would defer many important details by delegating responsibility for these matters to the commission it seeks to create, the digital safety commission of Canada, a new federal bureaucracy. A number of contentious issues remain unaddressed in the bill, which seems to set out broad principles, delegating the details to the commission for later consideration. Does my colleague agree that all potentially contentious issues should be addressed and studied as fully as possible so that the law reflects the legislative intent and so that responsibility is not unduly delegated to officials?”

“We want this bill to go to committee so we can study the new commission it creates. This commission would have huge powers to inspect, call witnesses, and issue fines. The government is giving too much power to an unelected group instead of letting elected members of Parliament handle the hard choices.”

“Madam Speaker, I have a question. The Bloc Québécois wants this bill to go to committee so we can take a closer look at the commission that the government proposes to establish under this bill. This commission would be responsible for reviewing cases. However, the powers that would be granted to it appear to be quite extensive. It would be able to conduct inspections, summon witnesses and impose administrative penalties. In effect, the government is proposing to pass legislation that sets out principles while delegating all the powers to an administrative body to resolve the most contentious issues. It is trying to keep the details away from parliamentarians. What real impact will we be able to have in relation to this commission?”