British Columbians are among the parents who lost children to online harms descending on Ottawa today to demand action from the federal government.
Children First Canada said in a press release it’s leading Monday’s rally on Parliament Hill, with support from a coalition that includes medical organizations, youth and parents. The group is reportedly bringing 15 children and 15 parents to Ottawa.
The Liberal government previously introduced an online harms bill, C-63, but it did not become law before last year’s federal election was called.
After initially signalling it would not bring the bill back in the same form, but would instead tackle aspects of it in other legislation, the government changed course, and Culture Minister Marc Miller is now taking the lead on a new bill.
Miller has reconvened an expert group that the government previously consulted. The group is expected to consider multiple questions, including whether the legislation should cover AI chatbots and if it should restrict social media access for kids and teenagers.
AI chatbot safety and social media bans for children have emerged as global political issues since the earlier version of the bill was introduced.
In addition to AI chatbots and gaming, Children First Canada wants the bill to cover social media. It says legislation must include a duty of care for platforms requiring them to prevent foreseeable harm, safety by design for online platforms, and a “strong, independent regulator with enforcement power.”
The group says banning social media for anyone under the age of 16 would be a start.
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Carol Todd is the mother of Amanda Todd, who took her own life due to relentless cyberbullying back in 2012.
Todd says the government’s inaction has left children vulnerable, and time is running out.
“When you look at 2012, and now this is 2026 — it’s almost 14 years, and still our kids are being harmed online,” said Todd.
“My big frustration is, ‘What’s being done?’”
Todd says big tech companies have algorithms capable of detecting suspicious activity and a role to play in stopping harm from happening.
Over the years, she says, the government has been slow to act.
“It’s all about inactivity with the government, and there was Bill C-63 previously tabled and in January 2025: it died because of the prorogation of the government and a new election,” Todd said.
Children First Canada says it has been waiting 1,700 days since Ottawa first promised to introduce legislation to protect kids from online harm.
Todd says big tech could be doing a lot more to protect Canadian kids.
“It’s so multifaceted,” she said.
“You can hold big tech companies accountable. We know they have the algorithms to catch certain words, phrases, or someone with multiple accounts — my daughter’s predator had 22 accounts on Facebook Meta. Why can’t that be caught if it’s coming from the same IP address?”
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The group will be recognized in the House of Commons during Question Period and spend the rest of the day meeting with Ministers and MPs.
Beyond Parliament Hill, children, parents and Canadians across the country are also rallying online, calling on leaders to take action.
The rally comes as Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew announced that his province plans to ban youth from social media this weekend. Kinew has not shared specifics on how that would be done or what the age restriction would be.
—With files from Terry Schintz