Digital Culture is a Public Health Issue With Real Clinical Impacts
Ottawa – July 13, 2026
CHC members see the effects of harmful online content on children and youth every day in pediatric care settings across the country.
CHC welcomes the new position statement from Canada's Chief Medical Officers of Health, which declares digital culture a public health issue that particularly affects children and youth. Grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in the digital environment, the statement calls for coordinated multi-sectoral action with targeted recommendations across every level of the ecosystem, from federal, provincial and territorial governments to the health and education sectors, digital platforms, communities, and children and youth themselves.
At the federal level, the CMOH statement calls for regulating harmful design features that target children, requiring robust age verification systems, moderating harmful content, and investing in independent research and meaningful youth engagement. These are the kinds of federal actions CHC has been calling for.
CHC has publicly welcomed the Safe Social Media Act (Bill C-34) as a meaningful step forward. Our member briefing on the bill highlights the open questions that will shape its impact, including the need for pediatric and mental health expertise on the Digital Safety Commission, robust and privacy-preserving age verification, and the inclusion of gaming platforms within the regulatory scope. CHC also supports Bill S-212, the National Strategy for Children and Youth Act, which would establish the kind of coordinated federal framework the CMOH statement calls for. CHC is also contributing to the evidence base on these questions through its research and knowledge mobilization work.
These federal actions matter because the health of children and youth cannot be left to individual family responses alone. Harmful online content is not theoretical. It is being witnessed and treated in pediatric care settings across Canada. CHC will continue to bring the clinical and health system expertise of Canada's children's healthcare community to shape strong federal legislation that protects the health, safety, and rights of children and youth across the country.