Legault pitches committee to study effect of social media on youth

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ST-HYACINTHE — On the same day as saying he is worried young Quebecers are coming under the influence of “virtual pushers,” Premier François Legault has set in motion a full legislative committee process to study the effect of screens and social media on youth.

For all the positive things the digital world has brought society, there are plenty of “negatives and risks,” Legault said in a speech closing a one-day Coalition Avenir Québec general council.

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“It is a real public-health problem,” Legault told the 700 delegates. “Social networks are conceived to render us dependent. Research shows children who spend several hours a day on social networks run a higher risk of mental-health problems.

“Anxiety, depression, a loss of self-esteem, family isolation, insomnia, chronic fatigue, violence, cyber-intimidation, harassment, eating disorders, suicidal thoughts. It worries me. It scares me.

“We have on our hands an enormous societal problem. Of course, parents have a responsibility, but society overall has to do more.”

Moments earlier, Legault’s team released a copy of a letter he has sent to the three opposition leaders seeking their support to launch of a trans-partisan special legislative committee to look at the effect of social media and screens on the development of youth.

Legault proposes putting several themes on the table: screen times of youth, the best way to control the use of screens at school and on web access, access to social media, including via video games, cyber-intimidation and access of youth to pornography on the web.

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There was no immediate response from the leaders, two of whom are involved in their own weekend councils. Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, however, posted a message on X saying he proposed the same idea two weeks ago only to see Legault swat it aside.

“We reiterate our proposal to the CAQ …,” St-Pierre Plamondon wrote. The PQ leader has been pushing the government for weeks to act on the presence of phones and screens, particularly in the education system.

Legault did not offer further details on his plan, but three of his front line cabinet ministers who see the problem in their work, Bernard Drainville (education), Lionel Carmant (social services) and Mathieu Lacombe (culture and communications) held their own news conference, saying they need help.

“I’m both a father and a minister and I’m not hesitant to say I do not have all the answers to some of these questions,” Drainville said. “These are complex issues. The issue of applicability is extremely important. Having a good idea is one thing, implementing it is another.

“We’re hoping the commission will provide us with this kind of information.”

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Some jurisdictions such as France and Florida have tried, for example, to set a minimum age for youth to be able to sign up for social media like Facebook and TikTok. In January, Quebec barred the use of cell phones in elementary school classrooms and had been thinking of expanding it to the entire premises.

But in a sign of how complicated the question is, CAQ delegates themselves could not agree with a youth sponsored motion to set the age for access to social media at 16. Through a series of amendments, they watered down the youth motion to say the issue should be studied by a legislature committee.

Legault himself was non-committal at his morning news conference when asked about the youth motion.

“There are pros, there are cons,” Legault responded, adding the government would have to examine how it could act in legal terms.

He agreed, however, social media are highly addictive products, like alcohol and cannabis, designed to make money for the people who own them.

“The way social media works is to render the readers dependent,” he said. “So it’s as if they were virtual pushers, like drugs and other substances.”

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Earlier this  month, the premier expressed his opposition to new measures, ridiculing St-Pierre Plamondon for suggesting some youth be prevented from using social media. In the meantime, a SOM poll published Friday in La Presse indicated seven out of 10 Quebecers support the idea of setting the minimum age at 16.

But the debate on social media was the highlight of the council, the first the CAQ has held since the mood of the people soured and the party slipped in the polls.

Legault addressed the question right off the top of his speech.

“And some people say we’re down,” Legault told the cheering crowd. “That’s not what I see here. What I see here is a big family ready to continue changing Quebec.”

Going back in time, Legault reminded the party of some of the things the CAQ has accomplished, including the adoption of Bill 21 on state secularism and Bill 96 overhauling the Charter of the French Language. All the measures took courage, he said, and so will others changing the health system.

And he had choice words for St-Pierre Plamondon, who told his own party council in April another independence referendum is closer than many people think.

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“The (sovereignty) project is noble, legitimate,” Legault, a former PQ cabinet minister said. “But it’s not time to roll the dice with the future of our nation. It’s not time to divide Quebecers on a referendum on sovereignty. It’s time to unite Quebecers.”

Legault kicked off the day calling on Quebecers to pay more attention to the effect the presence of thousands of temporary immigrants is having on their own government services and help him pressure Ottawa to reduce the number.

Legault hopes the question becomes a ballot box issue in the next federal election, but refrained on suggesting how he thinks Quebecers should vote.

“Quebecers do not realize the impact of having 560,000 temporary immigrants,” Legault told reporters. “Quebecers need to see it is urgent, that we put pressure on the federal government to rapidly act because it has has an impact on French, it has an impact on our services.”

Legault repeated with 560,000 temporary immigrants and asylum seekers, Quebec is doing more than its share in Canada to welcome newcomers, but he said that number is taxing Quebec’s health and social service network and fuelling other problems.

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“We have a major crisis in housing and a big part of that is coming from the 560,000 temporary immigrants,” Legault said. “I think Quebecers need to know that.”

Legault has upped the pressure on Ottawa to act several times in the last few weeks. Sometime before June 30, he is supposed to sit down, again, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss the issue and compel Ottawa to surrender more powers to Quebec to manage borders.

After their last meeting, in March, Trudeau made it clear Ottawa would not surrender full powers to Quebec, but Legault said Trudeau expressed interest in improving the system.

Legault and his ministers have floated the idea of Quebec holding a referendum specifically on the issue as a way of increasing its bargaining power. Legault said Saturday he is convinced such a vote would pass with the support of 65 per cent of the population.

But, in the short term, Quebecers can help him now.

“If you look at the last federal election, it was not the main issue,” Legault said. “What I want to see, over the coming weeks and months, is it becomes a central issue and Quebecers understand if we want to improve our services in education and health and have housing for all Quebecers, we have to reduce significantly the number of 560,000.

Legault did not go so far as to suggest Quebecers pick one federal leader over another. In the 2021 election campaign, Legault urged Quebecers to vote Conservative because at the time it was in favour of surrendering immigration powers to Quebec.

“There are many Quebecers who voted for Mr. Trudeau anyway,” Legault said Saturday.

But the premier said Quebecers need to know what the situation is. Quebec, for example, has had to open an additional 53 schools of 24 classes each to accommodate the influx. One-third of the temporary immigrants speak no French, so that affects the status of French, he said.

Quebec has warned of a humanitarian crisis if Ottawa does not act. It also says the federal government owes Quebec $1 billion to cover additional costs.

pauthier@postmedia.com

twitter.com/philipauthier

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