Rachel Bendayan

In response to a question from Maxime Blanchette-Joncas

“This bill creates a digital safety commission, and we will be open about how it works. The bill already lists its powers, but we want to hear other ideas from the Bloc Québécois so we can work together to pass this bill.”

“Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question from my colleague from the Bloc Québécois. Yes, the bill before the House provides for the creation of a commission. The process will be conducted in a very transparent manner, but we are not there yet. If my colleague has any suggestions regarding the commission’s powers beyond those already listed in the bill, we are ready to discuss them and work with him so that we can collaborate with the Bloc Québécois to move the bill forward.”

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In response to a question from Lianne Rood

“I want the House to pass this bill so a committee can study it and hear more from parents. We have already talked with many people about it over the summer. This bill gives parents more tools instead of telling them how to raise their children. It stops young people from making their own accounts, but parents can still choose what their children see online. I want to work with the member to address her concerns.”

“Mr. Speaker, I would like to assure the hon. member that the conversations will continue. I would like to point out that the minister did extensive consultations over the summer, as did I. Of course, the bill will move to committee if it is passed at second reading in the House, and there will be an opportunity for further study of the bill, where we will again hear from parents. I would like to point out that what the bill aims to do is to provide additional tools to parents. Nobody would be dictating to parents in any way how to teach or set boundaries for their own children. As my colleague would know from the bill itself, it aims to ensure that young people cannot create accounts, but if a parent would like their child to see something online, that would still remain possible. I hope we will have the opportunity to work together so I can help address some of the concerns the member may have.”

In response to a question from Gabriel Ste-Marie

“I want the House to pass this bill. It stops kids under 16 from having social media accounts unless platforms can prove they are safe. Social media hurts too many children with addiction and sexual abuse, and tech companies must be held responsible.”

“Mr. Speaker, I am truly honoured to share my time with the minister himself as we begin debate on his safe social media bill. I sincerely thank him and his team for their leadership. This debate is about young people’s safety, but it is also about their rights and their freedom to learn, connect and express themselves. Our responsibility as parliamentarians is to preserve these rights and freedoms while protecting young people from harm. This debate is about the kind of childhood we want our children to have: a childhood with room to explore, to make friends and to make mistakes without those mistakes necessarily following them for the rest of their life, and a childhood in which their safety comes first. The numbers tell us how much is at stake. Twenty-three per cent of teenagers aged 12 to 17 spend five hours or more a day on social media, one in seven girls in grades 9 and 10 shows signs of addiction, and 52% of teens report receiving unwanted sexual images, mostly through social media platforms. Statistics Canada reports that the rate of police-reported online child luring rose by 65% in 2024, and that number continues to climb. That same year, cybertip.ca received more than 2,300 reports of sextortion. I approach this debate of course as a parliamentarian but also as a mother. My daughter is nine years old. She is not on social media yet, but she is curious about technology and always comes home with stories about TikTok that are being shared in the playground, and I know the decisions so many Canadian parents have made already or are wrestling with today are waiting for me just on the other side: when to say yes, how to say no and how to keep her safe. Parents are being asked to navigate technologies that evolve faster than most of us can follow, built by some of the largest and most sophisticated companies in the world. We tell parents to set better boundaries. We tell children to show more self-control. Well, it is time we told companies designing these platforms to do better. For too long, we have asked families to take on technology giants by themselves. We have asked children to resist products deliberately designed to hold their attention. It is just not a fair fight, and it is time we changed the rules. The call for change has come from across Canada: grandparents worried about their grandchildren, parents struggling to set boundaries, teachers seeing the pressures in their classrooms first-hand, and pediatricians and emergency room physicians confronting the consequences on a daily basis. This call to action has come from people in my own community. In Outremont, our riding association submitted a resolution to make 16 the minimum age for having social media accounts and to require the major platforms to enforce that age restriction. I want to thank all members of our association, especially our chair, Jonathan Nuss, for spearheading this resolution with such conviction. I was very proud to champion the resolution at our Liberal convention in Montreal in April, where party members from across the country overwhelmingly voted in its favour. Going from the concerns of parents and teachers in our community to a debate here in Parliament is what grassroots politics can achieve. That is what democracy is capable of: people coming together, speaking up and pushing for change, and then change coming right here before the people’s House in Ottawa. An Angus Reid Institute poll found that three-quarters of Canadians support a ban on social media use for children under 16. This is not a partisan issue. There is room in the House to disagree about the details. There should also be room to work together to get them right. I have had the privilege of learning from advocates at the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, SickKids, the Canadian Medical Association, Apathy is Boring, Unplugged Canada, Phone-Free Schools Movement, Raising Awareness About Digital Dangers and many others. Their persistence has helped us come to this moment. We have also listened to teenagers. Many told me that they supported an age limit because being online did not feel like much of a choice anymore. When every friend is on the platform, opting out means being left out. We should listen carefully when young people tell us they want help. Canada is not acting alone. Australia has already implemented a minimum age of 16 for accounts on social media platforms, and other governments are pursuing stronger protections as well. We should learn from those experiences and build an approach grounded in Canadian rights, Canadian values and our responsibility to children. At the heart of that approach is safety by design. That means looking at how a platform works. What does its algorithm recommend? What keeps a child scrolling for six or seven hours? What happens when a child is in distress, and what protections are in place before something goes terribly wrong? Infinite scroll is a design choice. Autoplay is a design choice. Recommendation systems are design choices. Safety must be a design choice too. In practical terms, under the bill before us, platforms subject to the age restriction would be required to take measures to prevent young people under the age of 16 from having an account. The bill also allows companies to seek an exemption if they can demonstrate that they have provided adequate safeguards for the protection of children. The decision would be made by the new digital safety commission of Canada, an independent body that sets the conditions for granting an exemption. Companies would have to provide evidence to convince the commission. We want companies to compete to better protect children, not just to keep their attention for as long as possible. They should use their capacity for innovation to keep young people safe. AI chatbot services would also have certain obligations, particularly to reduce dangerous behaviours and to intervene in crisis situations. An independent regulator would enforce these obligations and would have the power to investigate, issue compliance orders and impose penalties. This framework is based on clear responsibilities, independent oversight and consequences for non-compliance. Parliament has important work ahead. We must continue to hear from parents, young people, doctors, teachers, privacy experts and child safety advocates, as well as from the companies that would have to implement these rules. We must protect privacy and freedom of expression and make sure that the rules work in practice. That scrutiny is part of our responsibility, and so is acting. Innovation and accountability can and should go hand in hand. If we can build technology powerful enough to transform society, we can build that technology with children’s safety at its core. My daughter is nine years old. The decisions we make here will help shape the digital world she grows up in. I want her to benefit from technology, but I also want the tech companies building that digital world of the future to take her safety as seriously as I do. That is what every parent wants. That is what we should all want for every child. We are talking here about the next generation of our country.”

In response to a question from Gabriel Hardy

“We are helping Canadians with the high cost of living. Yesterday, 12 million people got money from us to help buy food and basic needs. Our economy is also growing, with more jobs, higher wages, and more business investment.”

“Mr. Speaker, the cost of living remains a major concern for many Canadians, and we are taking action. Yesterday, 12 million Canadians received a direct payment as part of the Canada groceries and essentials benefit. That amounts to about $1,900 for a family of four over the course of the year. That makes a difference. We are also laying the groundwork to get the economy back on track. Economic growth is on the rise, jobs are on the rise, foreign investment is on the rise, and wages are rising for Canadian workers across the country.”

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In response to a question from Gérard Deltell

“Our economic plan is working. We have a plan to double home building, we are creating jobs faster than the United States, and we are bringing 500 billion dollars in foreign investment to Canada.”

“Mr. Speaker, my colleague is once again asking me about the concrete measures we have put in place. We have a plan to double housing construction here in Canada, and we are starting to see concrete results. We are creating jobs nearly three times faster than the United States. Just last week, investors from around the world came to Toronto, and that is $500 billion of investment that we are going to bring back into this country.”

In response to a question from Gérard Deltell

“We created programs to help Canadians, but the Conservatives voted against them. Our policies helped our economy grow faster than any other G7 country last quarter, and we brought in the most foreign investment.”

“Mr. Speaker, we introduced a number of programs to support Canadians. For some unknown reason, the Conservatives decided to vote against these measures. Now my colleague is talking about the Liberal government’s policies, the very policies that have led to the strongest economic growth in the G7 over the last quarter. Canada has also attracted the most foreign investment.”

In response to a question from Patrick Weiler

“Our plan helps people buy their first home without paying taxes. We are also spending money to build more affordable rentals and social housing across Canada. We are also spending 13 billion dollars to help fight climate change around the world.”

“Mr. Speaker, it is true that in my speech I did not have the time to go into detail about the many housing measures in the economic update. Of course, first-time homebuyers will be able to benefit from the purchase of their first home being tax free. There are significant investments in order to create affordable housing, including rental units, right across the country. There is social housing as well. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the incredible leadership of the member for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country when it comes to the $13 billion that we are investing in international climate financing, an issue I know he cares about very deeply.”

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In response to a question from Mario Beaulieu

“We are working on a plan to make sure Canadians have enough food. I am happy to talk more about this with the member outside the House. We need to work together to support our farmers and protect Canada's food supply.”

“Mr. Speaker, we are currently working on plan to ensure food security for Canadians. I would be pleased to continue discussing this issue with my colleague outside the House. However, it is important for us, as a government, to work together to secure our food sovereignty, especially since we have such a thriving agricultural sector here in Canada.”

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In response to a question from Greg McLean

“The Prime Minister announced our new plan for electricity. We are talking with the provinces and territories about it. Different parts of Canada make power in different ways, like hydro power in Quebec. We have enough clean energy to power Canada and sell clean electricity to other countries.”

“Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, the Prime Minister announced our new electricity strategy and the beginning of consultations with stakeholders but also, importantly, with provinces and territories. We know electricity generation is done very differently from coast to coast to coast in this country. In Quebec, for example, we have incredible hydroelectricity, but that is not the case right across the country. What we have set forward is an ambitious objective. Certainly, with all of the natural resources we have in Canada, we can be the provider of clean electricity to countries around the world.”

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“I support this budget bill because Canada's economy is strong despite world conflicts. The government is helping people by temporarily cutting fuel taxes and giving families money for food. We are also investing in clean energy, large building projects, and trade with new countries while keeping our debt low.”

“Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to share my time with my friend and colleague, the member for Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas. I am very pleased to rise today to speak to Bill C-30, which implements certain measures from the 2026 spring economic update. As members are well aware, we are debating this bill at a pivotal moment for our country. Around the world, economic and geopolitical uncertainty has reached unprecedented levels. Global markets remain extremely volatile. Conflicts in the Middle East and Europe continue to disrupt supply chains. Global energy disruptions and trade tensions are on the rise. Protectionism is making a comeback. Around the world, economies continue to face significant instability. The world uncertainty index recently surged to its highest level ever recorded in its more than 60 years of history. Global growth remains very uneven. Trade tensions are on the rise. Geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East and in Europe continue to disrupt our supply chains and to create uncertainty in international markets. Many advanced economies are struggling with sluggish productivity growth, persistent inflationary pressures and rising debt burdens, and Canadians understand these global realities. However, as I spoke with many constituents over the course of the last few weeks, and many Canadians indeed across the country, the feeling that keeps coming across is one of optimism. People see the chaos unfolding around the world, and more than ever, they are proud to be Canadian. In fact, a recent poll released just a few days ago shows that the number of Canadians who believe that Canada, this country, is headed in the right direction is at its highest level in a decade. What Canadians expect from their federal government is seriousness, discipline and a clear economic path forward, and that is exactly what this government is delivering. The best way to ensure that Canada can weather this global wave of instability is by focusing on what we can control and building a strong economy here at home. The numbers speak for themselves. Wage growth has now outpaced inflation for more than three consecutive years, meaning Canadians are seeing sustained income growth. Inflation here in Canada has remained within the Bank of Canada’s target range for two years now. In fact, inflation in Canada is now 26% lower than in the United States. Canada has the second-fastest growth rate in the G7 despite the trade war waged by the U.S. and continued global uncertainty, and according to the IMF, Canada is projected to remain the second-fastest growing economy in the G7 this year and next year. Since last summer, Canada has created over 77,000 jobs. Per capita, that is approximately two and a half times the pace of job creation in the United States. While the war in Iran and the resulting disruptions in global energy flows have significantly increased prices at the pump, our government has taken decisive action to mitigate those impacts for Canadians by suspending the federal excise taxes on fuel from now until Labour Day. Next Friday, 12 million Canadians will receive a one-time payment as part of the new Canada groceries and essentials benefit. This means a payment of up to $267 for individuals and up to $533 for a family of four. This benefit represents nearly $1,900 this year. That is real money and a real boost for Canadians who need it most. Next Friday, 12 million Canadians will receive a top-up payment as part of our new groceries and essentials benefit. That means $267 for a single person and up to $533 for a family of four. We are talking about approximately $1,900 for the year. That is very tangible support that will make a real difference. Over the past year, we have announced 15 major projects of national interest and six transformative economic strategies that will generate over $125 billion in investments and support more than 60,000 jobs across the country. That includes the expansion of the Port of Montreal back home in Contrecoeur. It also includes Nouveau Monde Graphite’s Matawinie mine in the Lanaudière region and the transformative high-speed rail project between Quebec City and Toronto. To meet this moment, we also need to ensure that Canada has the reliable and affordable electricity needed to power the economy of the future. Through our new national electricity strategy, we will double our electricity supply here in Canada while building a stronger, more interconnected electricity grid right across the country. This means accelerating investments in transmission infrastructure, clean power generation, energy storage and grid modernization, all so that Canadian businesses and workers have access to the affordable energy they need in order to compete and to grow. This is good for our environment, and it is good for our economy. Canada’s electricity is some of the cleanest in the entire world, and it is key to attracting more investments in advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence and critical minerals and, of course, to ensuring the competitiveness of our economy overall. In the economic update, we are providing more than $13 billion in international climate finance. Although this investment received relatively little media attention, it was very important to me. It was also important to the Prime Minister. At a time when many countries, such as the United Kingdom and France, are cutting back on aid for climate protection, it is essential for all of us that Canada continue to show leadership, because climate change knows no borders, and helping the most vulnerable countries adapt and build their resilience is not only a moral responsibility for Canada, but also in our strategic interest. As we make these investments, we are fulfilling our commitment to reduce the government’s operating spending. Since last fall, we have reduced the deficit by $11.5 billion. In fact, Canada continues to have the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. Canada has by far the strongest fiscal position of any G7 economy, as well as an AAA credit rating, the highest in the world. I am not saying this just to boast about the Canadian economy, but because this fiscal strength is essential. In a world marked by instability, countries with sound and solid public finances like Canada have the ability to act, invest, and protect their citizens. Canada is positioning itself to lead, and the world is taking notice. Foreign direct investment in Canada has reached its highest level in nearly two decades. Investors are choosing to invest here in Canada because of our skilled workforce, our stable institutions, our abundant natural resources and our responsible fiscal framework. That investment translates directly into jobs for Canadians, and it means new factories, new supply chains, new export opportunities and stronger economic sovereignty. We are also redoubling our efforts to diversify Canada’s economy. In a world where supply chains are being reshaped and global trade is becoming more fragmented, Canada must expand its economic partnerships and open new markets for Canadian businesses. Our objective is as clear as it is ambitious: to double Canada’s non-U.S. trade over the next decade. I have only a little time left but a lot to say. We simply cannot rely too heavily on any single market. That is why we have concluded over 20 new trade and security agreements on four different continents. Our non-U.S. exports are now up nearly 40%. That diversification makes Canada stronger and much more resilient. As the Prime Minister said very clearly at Davos, we know that “The old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it.””

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In response to a question from Rhéal Éloi Fortin

“We respect Quebec's powers. We listen to what Quebec wants and put measures for it in our budget. We will work with Quebec on its own programs and give it the funding it negotiates, as usual.”

“Mr. Speaker, respect for areas of jurisdiction is obviously very important. The Premier of Quebec met with our Prime Minister within hours of his taking office. It was very important for our Prime Minister to ensure that he was responsive to Quebec’s requests. We have put forward several measures in our budget. We made it quite clear, both to the Quebec government and to the Bloc Québécois, that we would work hand in hand with Quebec on the programs it wishes to advance itself. It will receive the negotiated funds as usual. Our deputy is working with his counterpart in Quebec to that end.”

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In response to a question from Kurt Holman

“People in the member's riding will soon get a government cheque to help pay for groceries and essentials. We also announced 1.5 billion dollars to help businesses hurt by tariffs keep their workers.”

“Mr. Speaker, the member raised affordability concerns in his riding. He should let his constituents know that they will be receiving a cheque for the Canadian groceries and essentials benefit in a few weeks’ time. It is an important measure by our government that will support the most vulnerable Canadians across the country. With respect to tariffs, just yesterday we announced $1.5 billion in order to support the sectors that have been hit particularly hard by these tariffs. This will ensure that companies can retain their employees to see them through this difficult time in order to continue to grow as they export to new partners.”