Parti Quebecois urges Legault government to stop 'procrastinating' on screen time commission
The Parti Quebecois (PQ) says François Legault's government needs to stop "procrastinating" and launch its special commission on young people's screen time this summer.
"We're already mired in several months of denial (...) We won't waste another year. (...) The health of young people is at stake," said PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon in an interview on Monday.
On Saturday, at his party's general council in Saint-Hyacinthe, Legault changed course, calling social media "virtual pushers."
Since the beginning of the year, he had rejected and even ridiculed several PQ proposals, which were raising alarms about screens' impact on young people's health.
Following a resolution passed by his party on Saturday, the premier proposed referring the subject to a special cross-party commission.
In his view, it would be similar to the commission that dealt with the thorny issue of medical aid in dying (MAID).
Transpartisan commissions "can last a year and a half," worries St-Pierre Plamondon.
"We congratulate the premier on his progress, (...) but we'd hate to see the subject dragged out when research has been done all over the world," he said. "What we're specifically asking is that the commission be completed before the end of the next parliamentary session and that the recommendations also be completed."
The PQ leader is calling for new measures in schools in time for the return of the holiday season in January 2025.
In his view, the commission should take no more than four months to complete its work.
"Let's remember that in France, they held a commission of this nature in just one month and the changes were put into effect immediately afterwards," said St-Pierre Plamondon. "If we hadn't procrastinated and laughed at the Parti Québécois when we brought this subject up at the beginning of the year, we could have aimed for changes for the start of the school year in September 2024.
"Work has already been done, including a 142-page report in France that is very credible, very thorough," according to the PQ leader.
He proposes bringing in French experts, "who have already done all the work, (...) as well as those in Quebec. Doctors Mélissa Généreux, Jean-François Chicoine and chief scientist Rémi Quirion have already done work."
More and more studies are showing that the use of screens by young people can have harmful consequences for their physical and mental health.
In May 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, stated that social networking is "driving a national crisis in youth mental health."
In a letter he sent to the leaders of the opposition parties on Saturday, Legault noted that "we are faced with two concomitant phenomena: (...) screens and social media."
He proposes that the commission study: young people's screen time, supervision measures, particularly at school, access to social networks, cyberbullying and minors' access to pornography on the web.
"I believe that such an exercise would promote greater awareness among the general population," he wrote.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 27, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6978861.1722008569!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
At least 4 buildings burned at Jasper Park Lodge, others damaged: Fairmont memo
The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge said Thursday afternoon most of its structures are "standing and intact," including its iconic main lodge.
Major Canadian bank dealing with direct deposit outage on pay day
Scotiabank has acknowledged technical difficulties affecting direct deposits as clients report missed payments Friday morning. On Friday morning, the bank's client services phone line was playing an automated message assuring customers that work was underway to rectify the outage.
Reported rate of child pornography increased 52% in 2023, total crime up 3%: Statistics Canada
Last year, reported child pornography cases increased by more than 50 per cent in Canada, in part due to more cases being sent to police by specialized internet child exploitation units, according to a Statistics Canada report.
Elon Musk's estranged daughter calls out his 'entirely fake' claims about her childhood
Vivian Jenna Wilson, Elon Musk's estranged daughter, publicly refuted several recent anti-trans statements her Tesla CEO and X owner father has made about her.
Federal government posts $3.9B deficit in April, May
The result for the April-to-May period compared to a $1.5 billion surplus for the same stretch last year.
What we know about 'malicious' attack on French train network ahead of Olympics opening
French transport was thrust into chaos Friday just hours ahead of the Olympics 2024 opening ceremony after a series of co-ordinated 'malicious acts' upended high-speed train lines.Here's what happened and what we know so far.
Canada Soccer head investigating 'systemic ethical shortcoming' amid spying scandal
Canada Soccer chief executive officer Kevin Blue said he was investigating a potential 'systemic ethical shortcoming' within the program but has not considered pulling the women's soccer team from the Paris Olympics due to a drone spying scandal.
Trump campaign says it won't commit to Harris debate until she's confirmed as nominee
The Trump campaign said Thursday it would not commit to any future debates until the Democratic Party formally chooses a nominee.
Suspected train sabotage, bad weather dampen spirits ahead of Paris opening ceremony
The Paris Olympics are getting off to a rough start, with suspected acts of sabotage targeting France's flagship high-speed rail network.