More than a month after a B.C. high school student, a victim of bullying, took her own life, the Yukon legislature unanimously passed a motion to form a committee to examine existing government programs targeting bullying.

The motion was brought forward by the Yukon Party MLA for Watson Lake, Patti McLeod.

It urged the government to form a multi-departmental committee to "inventory their programs related to child welfare, cyber safety, cyber bullying, sexualized violence against children and victims of crime.”

It also urged the government to examine partnerships with local organizations, including parent groups and the RCMP, and conduct periodic awareness campaigns to ensure parents and students are aware of available resources.

"I think the government does have an impressive array of programs to respond to bullying and to cyber bullying,” McLeod told the house Wednesday.

"Certainly, if there are any gaps in our coverage, then we need to look at that and close those gaps.”

There are a lot of things about the Internet that are outside the government's control she said.

"I think what we can control is education, and we really do need to educate parents and educators and the young people themselves to safeguard everything about them, actually – especially their information that they're putting out there.

"I'm especially worried about those young people who do not have someone monitoring what they're up to.

"Where that happens, I think society needs to make sure that these young people are well-educated in the dangers,” she said.

Justice Minister Mike Nixon spoke briefly about Amanda Todd, a Grade 10 student in B.C. who endured years of harassment before committing suicide in October.

"As I reflected on this young lady's story, I found myself thinking about how much the world has changed. When I was in Grade 7, in 1981, computers were not that prevalent and, certainly, were not that connected to our daily lives,” the minister said.

"Our Yukon Party government believes that this matter of bullying is very serious, whether it's online or whether it's in person.

"We must continue to work together as a community, as families, as friends, as neighbours and as educators to support vulnerable youth and youth at risk.”

Kate White, the NDP MLA for Takhini-Kopper King and the party's youth issues critic, also took part in Wednesday's debate.

The official Opposition supported the motion, but White noted it doesn't include any timelines nor actions for students, and "no way to measure the actual experiences of Yukon children in their communities and schools.

"The goal of reducing the incidence of bullying is implied in this motion, but it is not explicit. It's a good start, but doesn't talk about concrete actions,” White said.

Sandy Silver, the interim leader of the Liberal party, echoed White's concerns. He urged the government to commit to timelines and "other logistics” to ensure the committee's continued relevance.

"As an educator, I can say that this is not a simple issue – cyber bullying, bullying in general, sexualized violence against children – therefore co-ordinated efforts among governments, RCMP and others is absolutely instrumental to education process and to support,” he said.

Education Minister Scott Kent also spoke in support of the motion.