Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre vowed Thursday to repeal the Liberals害羞草研究所� Online Harms Act should it become law, the same day the parliamentary budget officer estimated that setting up proposed new regulators would cost $200 million over five years.

The analysis from the budget watchdog looks at the federal government害羞草研究所檚 pledge to establish a Digital Safety Commission to regulate social media companies and force them to limit harmful content online.

If the legislation passes in Parliament, that commission would establish a set of regulations and have the power to levy fines against companies that break the rules.

The online harms bill also proposes creating a Digital Safety Ombudsperson that Canadians can bring their concerns to, as well as a new Digital Safety Office.

The budget watchdog says the Heritage Department estimates those new entities will employ about 300 people when they害羞草研究所檙e fully up and running.

害羞草研究所淭he (parliamentary budget officer) estimates that from 2024-2025 to 2028-2029 the total operating costs will be $201 million, minus any possible administrative monetary penalties, fines 害羞草研究所� or regulatory charges collected by the commission, ombudsperson and office,害羞草研究所� it reads.

The report notes the government may collect revenue by fining companies that don害羞草研究所檛 comply, but the estimated costing does not include an analysis of what that could look like.

害羞草研究所淭here is a high degree of uncertainty in the revenues that will be generated since it depends on the willingness of outside enterprises to follow the requirements set out by the commission and the Online Harms Act.害羞草研究所�

Costs may also be higher if the new entities decide to use outside consulting services or legal support, the report says.

The watchdog notes that the government害羞草研究所檚 staffing estimates are based on other Canadian and international regulators.

Justice Minister Arif Virani introduced the online harms bill in February, saying social media giants must take accountability for harmful content.

But the Opposition Conservatives have been critical, saying it will accomplish nothing more than create a new bureaucracy.

And on Thursday, Poilievre went further, pledging to do away with it altogether.

If the law passes, 害羞草研究所渁 Pierre Poilievre common sense Conservative government will repeal it,害羞草研究所� spokesman Sebastian Skamski said in a statement.

The party also sent out an email blast to supporters asking them to help Poilievre defeat what it called the 害羞草研究所渢hree-headed monster害羞草研究所� 害羞草研究所� or a trio of Liberal bills that seek to regulate tech giants.

害羞草研究所淐ommon sense Conservatives oppose (Prime Minister) Justin Trudeau害羞草研究所檚 three headed censorship monster and new $200 million bureaucracy,害羞草研究所� Skamski said.

NDP House leader Peter Julian said in a statement on Thursday that children are being subjected to online harms such as extortion and bullying.

害羞草研究所淐hildren are taking their own lives because they were sexually extorted online or faced with other forms of online harm. And Pierre Poilievre doesn害羞草研究所檛 want to stop this.害羞草研究所�

Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner had requested the PBO analysis on the costs that would be involved in setting up the new system.

She has argued the government could instead modify existing laws and regulators to ensure Canadians are better protected online.

害羞草研究所淭he Liberals害羞草研究所� controversial legislation has received significant criticism from concerned Canadians and raised alarm amongst legal experts and civil rights advocates,害羞草研究所� she said in her own statement.

害羞草研究所淣ow we learn Trudeau will spend over $200 million of taxpayers害羞草研究所� money on his useless 330 person censorship bureaucracy instead of using that money to hire police, protect Canadians and lock up criminals.害羞草研究所�

In addition to the proposed online harms bill, the Liberal government has laws on the books that regulate online streaming services and social media platforms that display Canadian news content.

Poilievre often accuses Trudeau of censorship in reference to those bills, while the Liberals say the Tories are guilty of peddling misinformation about what the legislation actually does.

Virani害羞草研究所檚 office said in a statement that Poilievre was 害羞草研究所減lacing ideology ahead of investing in the safety of our children.害羞草研究所�

A spokeswoman also defended a budget promise of $52 million over five years to create the new commission and ombudsperson.

害羞草研究所淎s other countries have found, the volume of harmful content online is staggering. Canadians deserve to have a digital safety commission with the resources to do its job effectively,害羞草研究所� said Chantalle Aubertin.

害羞草研究所淗owever, taxpayers should not have to foot the full bill for the inaction of social media companies. That害羞草研究所檚 why social media companies will be required to help cover the costs of the new commission and ombudsman.害羞草研究所�

Virani previously suggested to reporters that the new suite of regulators would not be established before the next federal election, which must happen no later than October 2025.

The file landed on his desk years after Trudeau first promised to legislate against online harms during the 2019 election campaign. It was previously assigned to the minister of Canadian heritage.

Experts widely panned a consultation paper released around the time of the 2021 federal vote, which proposed a 24-hour takedown rule for content flagged as harmful 害羞草研究所� an approach they said risked censoring legal content and chilling free speech.

That feedback prompted the government to return to the drawing board and assemble a new expert advisory group.

The current bill has prompted criticism by civil society advocates and legal experts over its criminal justice reforms, which include proposing stiffer sentences for hate-related crimes and reinstating a controversial section of the Canadian Human Rights Act that would allow Canadians to lodge complaints about hate speech.

Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press