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Statement from Vera Etches, CHEO President and CEO
June 12, 2026, Ottawa, Ont. - Children and youth are growing up in a world where social media has constant, direct access to them — with very few guardrails.
At CHEO, we see the impact of this every day.
Dr. Gary Goldfield, psychologist and researcher at the CHEO Research Institute, has found that while social media can help young people stay connected, it can also affect their mental health, sleep, and overall well-being when use is unregulated.
The federal government’s Safe Social Media Act and proposed ban on social media for those under 16 is an important step forward. Kids need digital spaces that are designed to support their safety, health and development.
I was very grateful to host a federal roundtable at CHEO on Friday with Minister Marc Miller, Parliamentary Secretary David Myles, MP Marie-France Lalonde, and a wide range of clinicians, researchers, youth advocates and advocacy organizations to talk about what meaningful action should look like next.
Thank you to our partners from the Canadian Medical Association, Kids Help Phone, Children First Canada, the Canadian Paediatric Society, Unplugged Canada, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto Metropolitan University, and the University of Ottawa for joining and sharing.
This is a complex issue, but the direction is clear: we need to do more to protect kids online, and we can do more when we work together.