Delegates at a meeting of a national teachers' organization have unanimously voted in favour of urging the federal government to make cyberbullying a criminal offence.

Members of the Canadian Teachers' Federation endorsed the policy of taking a tougher stand against cyberbullies at the group's annual meeting Saturday in Moncton.

Bullying on the internet has become so serious that it's an occupational health and safety issue, the federation said, adding that the Criminal Code must do more to tackle the trend and police need more support to investigate cases.

Both teachers and students have been targets on the internet, through e-mail, blogs, social networking sites and chat rooms, the group said.

Emily Noble, president of the federation, said people are using online programs to harass, threaten and spread rumours.

"A lot of people get on the electronic medium and think that they can send whatever e-mails they want and they're anonymous. The reality is we need to take responsibility and care for each other. We all have to treat each other with respect," she said.

'The internet is the new playground. So let's get some ground rules in terms of how we treat each other," Noble said. "Teachers would like to know that they've got some backup, and they've got some support from parents, the community and decision-makers."

A recent study commissioned by the federation shows that 34 per cent of Canadians surveyed knew of students in their community who had been targeted by cyberbullying in the past year. Twenty per cent said they knew of teachers who had been cyberbullied.

The poll also shows that almost one in 10 knew someone close to them who had been cyberbullied.

The survey of 2,523 Canadians throughout the country was conducted from Feb. 27 to March 11.