OTTAWA – One year after his bullied son committed suicide, Allan Hubley continues working on the same bullying prevention projects with which his son was involved.
His focus now is on saving children.
His words come in the wake of 15-year-old Amanda Todd’s suicide in Vancouver, another teen who gave up on living after enduring years of bullying.
Cases like these suggest the debate happening in the House of Commons Monday is not the answer, Hubley said.
MPs in Ottawa spent an hour debating a NDP-sponsored motion calling for a national strategy to prevent bullying.
But before the federal government could roll-out such a strategy, it would have to strike a special committee to study the prevalence and effectiveness of bullying and different prevention methods.
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“I don’t see the need for Parliament to do what they’re doing,” he said, pointing to time and financial resources as reasons. “If the federal government could provide money to the local areas where the front-line groups are … if we can start providing resources to the groups who are doing good things here, we can save kids today.”
If passed, the special committee would have to produce a report within a year.
To Hubley, the process is just “creating more paper.”
“I don’t think we need it,” he said. “Instead of more studies, let’s put some serious money on the table. Get the resources out there.”
Todd’s aunt, however, welcomes the debate.”I really want change. I want action,” Leana Todd told Global News.
Todd is hoping her niece’s story will also inspire action in the form of education campaigns aimed at parents, children and teachers – a notion one expert supports.
Wendy Craig, a bullying expert and professor of psychology at Queen’s University, said Canada needs a national strategy that takes the form of a public campaign.
“We need a broad public education campaign, much like the one we’ve had for smoking, wearing bicycle helmets and drinking and driving,” she said. “Those have all been successful public health education campaigns where we raise awareness about the issues and provide strategies.”
Bullying rates have decreased in countries that have implemented national strategies, Craig said, pointing to Norway and Finland as examples.
Canada also needs to shift its focus from at-risk youth to prevention tools, she said.
“We need evidence-based prevention programming for youth. Not just for identifying those at risk,” she said, citing Todd’s case as an example.
In the British Columbia teen’s story, some schoolmates ganged up on her, physically and emotionally berating her, while others posted negative and threatening comments on her Facebook page.
“Those kids are contributing to it, and they need to understand and recognize what their actions and behaviours are doing,” Craig said.
The motion to set up a special committee from New Democrat MP Danny Morin – who said he was also a victim of bullying – is a good start to achieving those goals, she says.
Kerry-Lynne Findlay, the parliamentary secretary to the justice minister, said Monday the Conservatives will consider the motion, but that the party wants to be certain the motion doesn’t double-up on any current federal efforts.
In the 2012 budget, Findlay said, the government funded 138 community-based projects. She also noted that the government is currently accepting applications for funding for groups actively involved in the frontline.
“We don’t want to be duplicating efforts,” she said. “We need to be taking action.”
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