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Quebec opposition parties slam anti-corruption unit after allegations media leaks came from top brass – CBC.ca

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In another blow to the reputation of Quebec’s anti-corruption unit, its former head was accused of orchestrating media leaks in recently unredacted court documents.

The revelations came this week as parts of a court ruling once under a publication ban became public. The document revealed the province’s police watchdog believed the unit’s former commissioner orchestrated media leaks that derailed legal proceedings against a former Liberal cabinet minister.

The Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI) believed Robert Lafrenière, the former commissioner, and other senior brass at the anti-corruption squad arranged a series of leaks that halted the trial of former Liberal minister Nathalie Normandeau, according to the ruling by Superior Court Judge André Perreault. 

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The BEI’s investigation, dubbed “Oath,” found that UPAC’s own investigation into the leaks was an operation to cover its tracks and send prosecutors on false leads. The police watchdog said Lafrenière’s motive behind leaking information to the media about UPAC’s investigations was to make the nascent unit and his leadership look good.

He wanted it to become its own police force without having to “borrow” investigators from Quebec provincial police and various municipal police services, according to the description of the BEI’s findings in the ruling. UPAC became an independent police unit in February 2018. 

Lafrenière, who quit UPAC the day of the provincial elections that fall, vigorously denied the allegations in an interview with Radio-Canada’s investigative program Enquête.

“My reputation is being attacked by a hypothesis,” he said. “I never shared any kind of document with anyone.” 

Lafrenière said he chose to resign on election day because it seemed like a neutral moment to do so.

Former Quebec deputy premier Nathalie Normandeau and her five co-accused were granted a stay of proceedings in 2020. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

Normandeau and five others were accused of conspiracy, fraud and breach of trust, but were ultimately granted a stay of proceedings because of delays caused by UPAC media leaks. 

Normandeau, who was Quebec’s deputy premier under Jean Charest from 2007 to 2011, was arrested in 2018 in connection to the awarding of a contract to build a water-treatment plant in Boisbriand, Que.

Perreault wrote in his decision, which was published Sept. 25, 2020, that the exoneration of Normandeau and the five co-accused did not absolve them of guilt. 

UPAC should “have known that the discovery of leaks” would initiate a police investigation into those leaks and “inevitably delay court proceedings,” Perreault wrote. 

‘Political police force’

Tuesday, opposition parties took turns criticizing the police force for its latest scandal. Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade agreed with a reporter’s assertion that the anti-corruption unit has turned into a “political police force.”

“It’s extremely problematic everything that we have read in relation to the UPAC,” Anglade said in Quebec City.

“What’s clear is that inside UPAC there really are issues, and you can’t sit in your living room today and watch this and think that (you) have confidence in this institution.”

The watchdog, the judge said, had linked 19 leaks to UPAC brass, including six to Lafrenière. The BEI investigation is ongoing, and at the time ruling was rendered in 2020, lead investigator Michel Doyon was still to meet with 35 witnesses.

Aside from Normandeau, ex-premier Jean Charest — now a candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada — was the target of leaks.

Details of UPAC’s investigation into alleged illegal party financing involving the Quebec Liberal Party under his leadership were distributed to journalists. That investigation has been closed and no charges were laid.

Aside from this latest scandal, UPAC has been criticized for not building cases leading to successful prosecutions. A government report in 2019 found it lacked officers with the necessary skills to conduct complex investigations into financial crimes.

Also Tuesday, Québec Solidaire’s Manon Massé said it was time for UPAC to demonstrate it could do what it was mandated to do. “UPAC has not demonstrated that it could meet its responsibilities, to assure the people of Quebec that corruption is hunted down and is penalized,” Massé said.

Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said it was time for UPAC to be scrapped altogether.

“We have an issue of trust now because it says that for years all this was theatre,” St-Pierre Plamondon said. “So, how can you continue with that organization if, culturally speaking, the organization as a whole was in a business of theatre. You can’t trust them.”

Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault, speaking in Rimouski, Que., reiterated her confidence in the institution, noting that much has changed since the Coalition Avenir Québec came to power and the new head of the unit, Frédérick Gaudreau, was elected by the legislature.

“Let UPAC do its work,” Guilbault said.

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Social media lawsuit launched by Ontario school boards

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Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against multiple social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.

The school boards, including three in the Greater Toronto Area, have launched lawsuits seeking $4.5 billion in damages against Snapchat, TikTok, and Meta, the owner of both Facebook and Instagram, for creating products that they allege negligently interfere with student learning and have caused “widespread disruption to the education system.”

But at an unrelated news conference in Ottawa on Friday, Ford said that he “disagrees” with the legal action and worries it could take the focus away from “the core values of education.”

“Let’s focus on math, reading and writing. That is what we need to do, put all the resources into the kids,” he said. “What are they spending lawyers fees to go after these massive companies that have endless cash to fight this? Let’s focus on the kids, not this other nonsense that they are looking to fight in court.”

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Four separate but similar statements of claim were filed in Ontario’s Superior Court of JusticSocial media lawsuit launched by Ontario school boards pervasive problems such as distraction, social withdrawal, cyberbullying, a rapid escalation of aggression, and mental health challenges,” Colleen Russell-Rawlins, the director of education with the Toronto District School Board, said in a news release issued Thursday.

“It is imperative that we take steps to ensure the well-being of our youth. We are calling for measures to be implemented to mitigate these harms and prioritize the mental health and academic success of our future generation.”

The school boards are represented by Toronto-based law firm Neinstein LLP and the news release states that school boards “will not be responsible for any costs related to the lawsuit unless a successful outcome is reached.”

These lawsuits come as hundreds of school districts in the United States file similar suits.

“A strong education system is the foundation of our society and our community. Social media products and the changes in behaviour, judgement and attention that they cause pose a threat to that system and to the student population our schools serve,” Duncan Embury, the head of litigation at Neinstein LLP, said in the new release.

“We are proud to support our schools and students in this litigation with the goal of holding social media giants accountable and creating meaningful change.”

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Ontario school boards sue social media giants for $4.5B

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Four major Ontario school boards are taking some of the largest social media companies to court over their products, alleging the way they’re designed has negatively rewired the way children think, behave and learn and disrupted the way schools operate.

The public district school boards of Toronto, Peel and Ottawa-Carleton, along with Toronto’s Catholic counterpart, are looking for about $4.5 billion in total damages from Meta Platforms Inc., Snap Inc. and ByteDance Ltd., which operate the platforms Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok respectively, according to separate but similar statements of claim filed Wednesday.

“These social media companies … have knowingly created a product that is addictive and marketed to kids,” said Rachel Chernos Lin, the chair of the Toronto District School Board, on CBC Radio’s Metro Morning on Thursday.

“We need them to be held accountable and we need them to create safer products.”

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Social media giants ‘knowingly’ harming children, TDSB chair says in wake of lawsuit

3 hours ago

Duration 5:53

Four of Ontario’s largest school boards, including the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), have launched lawsuits against social media giants behind Meta, Snapchat and TikTok for allegedly causing harm to students. Metro Morning host David Common spoke with TDSB chair Rachel Chernos Lin about the action.

The allegations have yet to be proven in court, and there is no set date for when they will be heard. CBC Toronto has reached out to the companies named for comment.

The school boards, speaking under a new coalition called Schools for Social Media Change, allege students are experiencing an “attention, learning, and mental health crisis” because of “prolific and compulsive use of social media products,” in a news release.

They allege the platforms facilitate and promote cyberbullying, harassment, hate speech and misinformation, and have a part in escalating physical violence and conflicts in schools, according to the statements of claim.

They also argue these apps are “purposefully designed” to deliver harmful content to students dealing with topics such as suicidal ideation, drugs, self-harm, alcohol, eating disorders, hate speech and sex — particularly content encouraging “non-consensual” sexual activity.

Trying to respond to those problems has caused “massive strains” on the boards’ funds, including in additional mental health programming and staff, IT costs and administrative resources, the release says. The boards call on the social media giants to “remediate” the costs to the larger education system and redesign their products to keep students safe.

Lawsuit may be first of its kind in Canada

Hundreds of school boards in the United States, along with some states, have launched similar lawsuits against social media companies.

Last fall, over 30 states accused Meta Platforms Inc. of harming young people’s mental health and contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly designing features on Instagram and Facebook that cause children to be addicted to its platforms.

In an email, a spokesperson for Snap said Snapchat was “intentionally designed to be different from traditional social media.”

“Snapchat opens directly to a camera — rather than a feed of content — and has no traditional public likes or comments. While we will always have more work to do, we feel good about the role Snapchat plays in helping close friends feel connected, happy and prepared as they face the many challenges of adolescence.”

What social media scrolling is doing to kids’ brains

5 months ago

Duration 7:52

With most children and teenagers spending hours a day on a smartphone, CBC’s Christine Birak breaks down what research shows about how using social media is changing kids’ behaviour, if it’s rewiring their brains and what can be done about it.

Neinstein LLP, a Toronto-based firm, is representing the school boards. The boards will not be responsible for any costs related to the suit unless a successful outcome is reached, the release says.

Duncan Embury, a partner and head of litigation at Neinstein, told CBC News the named companies are “mainly responsible” for the social media products that kids use, and share “common” designs or algorithms that lead to “problematic use.”

To his knowledge, this is the first case of its kind in Canada.

“Based on what we’re seeing and what we’re hearing from our educators, I think this is a problem that is pervasive across our system and I wouldn’t be surprised if there [were] more boards that took this step,” said Embury.

Ford ‘disagrees’ with move

At an unrelated news conference on Thursday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he “disagrees” with the schools boards’ lawsuits.

“What are they spending on lawyer fees to go after these massive companies that have endless cash to fight this? Let’s focus on the kids, not about this other nonsense that they’re looking to fight in court,” he said.

WATCH | Ford disagrees with school board lawsuits against social media companies:

Ford disagrees with school board lawsuits against social media companies

2 hours ago

Duration 0:41

Ontario Premier Doug Ford responded to news Thursday that four major school boards in the province are suing some of the largest social media companies over alleged harm to young people, saying he disagrees with the boards’ action. “Let’s focus on the kids, not about this other nonsense,” he told reporters.

CBC News spoke to parents with children who attend schools in the Toronto District School Board. While they all agree social media apps are a problem, they differ in what approach they think should be used to regulate them.

“Just take the phones away,” said Gillian Henderson.

“I don’t think we need to sue anybody, that seems like a long, expensive process. Just take away their phones in class and give them back to them when they need them.”

The board has recently moved to develop a policy to limit cellphone use in classrooms, which includes potential phone bans and social media restrictions. It previously said staff had problems enforcing policies stating students should only use phones for educational purposes only.

Two separate pictures of a woman and a man shown together.
Gillian Henderson and Shyon Baumann have children who attend schools in the Toronto District School Board. Henderson thinks schools should take students’ phones away in class, while Baumann says it may be helpful to force tech giants to decrease harm from their apps through the court system. (Paul Smith/CBC)

Shyon Baumann said school boards could use some help in reducing screen time.

“If the school boards can do what they can trying to police it, that would be great. But it would be also great if the app creators did what they could to make the harms decrease,” he said.

“If they’re not going to make voluntary changes, then maybe doing it through the courts is the most effective way.”

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Five of the best books about social media – The Guardian

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From Covid conspiracy theories to recent speculations about Catherine, Princess of Wales, social media is at the heart of how we share information, and misinformation, with one another in the 21st century. For those who want to have a better understanding of social media and how it affects us, here are a selection of titles that explore how we consume, share, and manipulate information on social media platforms.


So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson

Journalist and author Jon Ronson argues we live in “a great renaissance of public shaming”, and this book tracks down some of the many victims of online shaming to understand what happened to them as a result. In the process, we learn about Ronson’s own values, question our own, and figure out how we’ve reached a time where an online feed can become a social courtroom.


Doppelganger by Naomi Klein

After getting repeatedly mistaken for feminist-turned-conspiracy-theorist Naomi Wolf online, and then in real life, Naomi Klein penned Doppelganger as an earnest and introspective look at herself. The book explores how conspiracy theories and lies spread quickly through the internet, and how the social and political climate of the physical world manipulates the way we experience online platforms. While not exclusively about social media, the story behind Doppelganger is a perfect case of the ways our digital lives and identities intersect with what we experience in reality – and how dangerous the repercussions of spreading online lies can be.

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Irresistible by Adam Alter

Have you ever wondered why you can’t stop scrolling on your TikTok “for you” page, or obsessing over how many likes you got on a recent Facebook post? You’re not alone, and Adam Alter’s book explores why we get sucked into the digital world. He answers what makes an online addiction, whether it be to emails, Instagram, or Netflix, different to other forms of addiction – and warns us of the dangers this could cause long-term. As well as introspection, he gives practical solutions to how digital addiction can be controlled for good.


Extremely Online by Taylor Lorenz

Journalist Taylor Lorenz calls this book “a social history of social media”; she uses real-life case studies of mothers, teenagers, politicians and influencers to assess how social media touches all demographics. Extremely Online explores topics from the digital economy and influencer culture, to what makes moments go viral on Twitter and how this is all influencing the way we socialise and understand the world. At its core, this book explores the idea of what it means to connect – and how social media as an innovation has warped communication.


TikTok Boom by Chris Stokel-Walker

TikTok is arguably one of the most significant advancements in social media in the past two decades. This book by journalist and writer Chris Stokel-Walker explores how the app is changing the way users interact with content. It moves away from the social-commentary style of the other books mentioned here, instead using business and technology analysis as a means to describe wider socio-political repercussions of the app. Stokel-Walker bridges the gap between the digital and the physical, showing the feedback loop that exists between what happens online on platforms such as TikTok and the real world.

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