(Saint-Hyacinthe) CAQ activists temper a proposal from the youth wing by limiting themselves to demanding a parliamentary commission to study the establishment of a digital majority in order to access social networks.
Shortly after the adoption of a proposal to this effect at the general council of his party, Prime Minister François Legault sent a letter to the leaders of the opposition parties to propose the creation of a “special parliamentary commission transpartisan on the impacts of screens and social networks on the health and development of young people”.
After a long debate at the general council of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) on Saturday, CAQ activists adopted a proposal diluting the one submitted by the youth commission.
The latter wanted the party to come out in favor of “the establishment of a digital majority at 16 years of age for opening an account on social networks, as well as rigorous verification to access sites reserved for adults”.
Among the people who spoke, MP Isabelle Lecours spoke out against the proposal, recalling that “people can go see a doctor from the age of 14 without the approval of their parent”. Also opposed to the proposal, an activist from Charlevoix–Côte-de-Beaupré argued that “the government has always said that we will not interfere in what happens in bedrooms” and that “first education » must be done at home. “There is a responsibility of parents which is lost and the State takes a lot of it,” lamented another CAQ member, pleading that the issue “is up to families”.
A supporter of the proposal said a numerical majority is necessary to “minimize harassment” that affects the mental health of young people. A representative of the CAQ’s Commission de la succession argued that “social networks have many more negative consequences than positive consequences”. “The data shows that distress is increasing among young people,” she added. “It’s time to take back control. »
The proposal was later amended so that the party instead called for a parliamentary commission to study the idea, without proposing an age limit. “We are not completely putting into practice the idea of a numerical majority, it would be studied beforehand,” said an activist.
This amended proposal, which was widely supported, reads as follows: “The Coalition Avenir Québec proposes to ask the government to study in a parliamentary committee the establishment of a numerical majority for minors at an age to be determined for the “opening an account on social networks, as well as rigorous verification to access sites reserved for adults”.
The young CAQ members were satisfied with the adoption of this proposal even if it is more nuanced than the one they proposed.
“I am extremely proud of the next generation of the party, of having made the most debated proposals that I have ever seen at the CAQ,” said the Minister responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, during an intervention at the microphone just before the final vote. “Here, we have something that will feed into our next strategy” on the use of screens and the health of young people.