Latest news with #EvanSolomon
Scoop
2 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Civil Society Calls For Overhaul Of Canada's Approach To Digital Policy
May 28, 2025 Today, OpenMedia and 13 other prominent Canadian civil society organizations and digital policy experts delivered a joint letter to key federal ministers, urging fundamental reform of Canada's strategy for digital policymaking. The letter calls for an end to the last government's practice of packing digital legislation into sprawling, multi-part omnibus bills such as Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act, and Bill C-27, which covered private sector privacy reform and AI regulation. The signatories agree the government must address critical issues such as online safety, privacy, and artificial intelligence, but believe separate pieces of legislation advanced to fulfill a unified digital policy vision is the best approach for our new government to regulate them. 'Canadians deserve sensible, nuanced digital policy that can comfortably pass in a minority Parliament," said Matt Hatfield, Executive Director of OpenMedia. "We've seen how omnibus legislation plays out: the most controversial portions drown out the rest, and committees spend their time debating overreaching measures instead of getting effective digital regulation done. That's why we're asking our government to work with every party to pass basic rights-respecting privacy and online safety measures that are now many years past due." The signatories observe that a fragmented approach to Canada's digital policy, split between different government agencies with competing mandates and agendas, has led to the failure of long-promised digital policy reforms to receive due study, appropriate amendments, and be adopted by Parliament. The letter's authors point to the recent appointment of Evan Solomon as Minister for AI and Digital Innovation on May 13th as a key opportunity for the government to better signal its priorities and implement a more cohesive legislative vision. Many signatories engaged the government throughout its consideration of illegal online content that informed Bill C-63, including through a 2024 letter that recommended splitting the Bill, 2023 expert letter outlining red lines and recommendations for potential legislation, and by individual submissions to the government's 2021 consultation. Many also participated in Parliament's INDU Committee consideration of Bill C-27, delivering recommendations on privacy amendments, artificial intelligence regulation amendments, or both. Through this experience, the signatories observed Parliament struggle to grapple effectively with either bill. Controversial proposals attached to both overwhelmed productive discussion, preventing amendment and passage of more substantive and widely supported sections. The letter concludes with five core recommendations for future legislation, including placing overall coordination responsibility for digital policy under a single department; advancing Canada's digital policy agenda through separate legislative proposals; and prioritizing areas of broad consensus for rapid legislative improvement first.
Canada Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Canada Standard
Government of Canada welcomes recent announcements from telecommunications companies in AI infrastructure
Canada News Centre 29 May 2025, 19:48 GMT+10 May 29, 2025 - Ottawa, Ontario Today, the Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, along with the Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, made the following statement: "The Government of Canada welcomes recent announcements from leading telecommunications companies such as Bell and Telus about their plans to build the critical infrastructure to power Canada's AI advantage. These forward-looking private sector investments will help create high-quality jobs in Canada, open up new opportunities for workers at home and strengthen Canada's position as an AI leader. It also supports the responsible development and adoption of AI technologies that can improve prosperity for workers and businesses across Canada. "Notwithstanding unjustified tariffs imposed by the United States, these announcements show industry is strongly aligned with Canada's plans to build the strongest economy in the G7, and the desire to see AI get to scale, unlock productivity gains, and fuel trust, security and sovereignty at this time of crisis. "These investments are also a testament to Canada's commitment to ensuring all Canadians have access to best-in-class technologies. The Government of Canada will continue to champion investments that expand access to reliable, affordable telecommunications and support the growth of Canadian businesses in every corner of the country. Canada is open for business." Associated links Canadian Sovereign AI Compute Strategy
Cision Canada
2 days ago
- Business
- Cision Canada
Statement - Government of Canada welcomes recent announcements from telecommunications companies in AI infrastructure
Today, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, along with the Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, made the following statement: "The Government of Canada welcomes recent announcements from leading telecommunications companies such as Bell and Telus about their plans to build the critical infrastructure to power Canada's AI advantage. These forward-looking private sector investments will help create high-quality jobs in Canada, open up new opportunities for workers at home and strengthen Canada's position as an AI leader. It also supports the responsible development and adoption of AI technologies that can improve prosperity for workers and businesses across Canada. "Notwithstanding unjustified tariffs imposed by the United States, these announcements show industry is strongly aligned with Canada's plans to build the strongest economy in the G7, and the desire to see AI get to scale, unlock productivity gains, and fuel trust, security and sovereignty at this time of crisis. "These investments are also a testament to Canada's commitment to ensuring all Canadians have access to best-in-class technologies. The Government of Canada will continue to champion investments that expand access to reliable, affordable telecommunications and support the growth of Canadian businesses in every corner of the country. Canada is open for business." Stay connected Find more services and information on the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada website. Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on social media. SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Canada has a chance to lead on AI policy and data governance at the 2025 G7 Leaders' Summit
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming sectors from health care to climate science. But amid the global scramble to lead this technological revolution, one truth is becoming clearer: data, its platforms and its circulations, have become critical infrastructure. And Canada, poised to host this year's G7 Leaders Summit, has a rare opportunity to shape the rules that will govern AI globally. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Mark Carney, the federal government elevated AI and digital innovation to a central pillar of national policy, and appointed Evan Solomon as minister of artificial intelligence and digital innovation. But ambition is not enough — Canada must now back its rhetoric with action that resonates at home and abroad. While AI headlines often focus on breakthroughs in generative models and robotics, the real engine of progress lies in less glamorous terrain: computing infrastructure and data systems. Canada's proposal to build 'next-generation data centres' is about creating the backbone for globally competitive and ethically governed AI. Without these facilities, modern AI systems cannot be trained, validated or deployed responsibly. AI models — like those used in medicine for developing new drugs and health services, clean technologies such as clean energy and carbon-capture or materials science — require enormous computational power and massive datasets. That data must be structured, validated and — to the extent possible — open to those who can use it. Our recent study underscores that the future of AI depends less on algorithmic cleverness and more on data quality and accessibility. Poorly labelled or fragmented datasets can introduce bias, reduce model performance or even endanger lives when used in health or safety applications. Yet across many domains, useful data remains siloed and locked in proprietary formats, lacking documentation or inaccessible due to legal and technical barriers. This status quo serves monopolies, not society. Canada holds the G7 presidency in 2025, and can provide leadership in data governance and AI innovation. A central priority should be to rally partners around a framework for ethical, accessible and well-designed datasets, especially in fields like health, climate science and materials research. Our call for open data isn't one-size-fits-all. It must be tailored to the needs of specific sectors: Health-care AI requires anonymized patient data, genomic sequences, protein structure data, toxicology and carcinogen data, and drug response datasets. Climate AI needs long-term environmental records, satellite imagery, power and water use information and real-time emissions data. Materials science AI demands chemical interaction data, physical testing results, structural data and thermodynamic properties. What binds these fields is a common challenge: ensuring data is ethically sourced, high-quality, and useable across borders and institutions. Canada's role should be to help build the platforms — digital, legal and diplomatic — that make this possible. As host of the G7 in June, Canada can push for a transformative international commitment. At a minimum, this should include: Common standards for open datasets, co-designed with input from AI developers, health professionals, climate researchers, materials scientists and legal experts. Trusted data hubs, managed by public-private or non-profit entities, ensuring secure storage, privacy safeguards and public access. Legal and diplomatic co-ordination, addressing cross-border data sharing, intellectual property constraints and ethical governance frameworks. These steps would position the G7 — and Canada in particular — as a champion of AI that serves democratic values on top of commercial and geopolitical interests. Canada is not starting from scratch. The country boasts leading AI research institutions, including the Vector Institute and Mila, and has pioneered open science partnerships such as the Montreal Neurological Institute's Tanenbaum Open Science Institute and the Toronto labs of the Structural Genomics Consortium. Dataset platforms such as AIRCHECK(for AI-based chemical knowledge) and the CACHE competition (evaluating drug discovery models using open data), show how Canada is already putting together the building blocks of responsible AI. But the country risks squandering this advantage if it cannot scale these efforts or retain innovation domestically. The stalled Artificial Intelligence and Data Act is a case in point. While the European Union moved forward with its AI Act, the General Data Protection Regulation and the European Health Data Space Regulation, Canada's legislative framework remains in flux. Without clear domestic rules, and a proactive global agenda, Canada could end up as an incubator for innovations that end up developed and applied elsewhere. The AI race is not just about who builds the most powerful models. It's about who defines the technical, ethical and geopolitical standards that shape the digital future. The G7 offers Canada a moment of strategic clarity. By investing in AI infrastructure and leading an international agenda on open, trustworthy AI, Canada can lead in shaping the rules. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organisation bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: E. Richard Gold, McGill University and Cristina Vanberghen, European University Institute Read more: Regulating AI seems like an impossible task, but ethically and economically, it's a vital one The robot revolution is here: How it's changing jobs and businesses in Canada An international body will need to oversee AI regulation, but we need to think carefully about what it looks like E. Richard Gold receives funding from TRIDENT: TRanslational Initiative to DE-risk NeuroTherapeutics, a project funded by the New Frontiers in Research Fund, application NFRFT-2022-00051. Gold is also the Chief Policy and Partnerships Officer of Conscience, a Canadian non-profit focused on enabling drug discovery and development in areas where open sharing and collaboration are key to advancement and where market solutions are limited, such as rare or neglected diseases, pandemic preparedness, and antimicrobial resistance. Cristina Vanberghen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Canada Standard
4 days ago
- Business
- Canada Standard
Canada has a chance to lead on AI policy and data governance at the 2025 G7 Leaders' Summit
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming sectors from health care to climate science. But amid the global scramble to lead this technological revolution, one truth is becoming clearer: data, its platforms and its circulations, have become critical infrastructure. And Canada, poised to host this year's G7 Leaders Summit, has a rare opportunity to shape the rules that will govern AI globally. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Mark Carney, the federal government elevated AI and digital innovation to a central pillar of national policy, and appointed Evan Solomon as minister of artificial intelligence and digital innovation. But ambition is not enough - Canada must now back its rhetoric with action that resonates at home and abroad. While AI headlines often focus on breakthroughs in generative models and robotics, the real engine of progress lies in less glamorous terrain: computing infrastructure and data systems. Canada's proposal to build "next-generation data centres" is about creating the backbone for globally competitive and ethically governed AI. Without these facilities, modern AI systems cannot be trained, validated or deployed responsibly. AI models - like those used in medicine for developing new drugs and health services, clean technologies such as clean energy and carbon-capture or materials science - require enormous computational power and massive datasets. That data must be structured, validated and - to the extent possible - open to those who can use it. Our recent study underscores that the future of AI depends less on algorithmic cleverness and more on data quality and accessibility. Poorly labelled or fragmented datasets can introduce bias, reduce model performance or even endanger lives when used in health or safety applications. Yet across many domains, useful data remains siloed and locked in proprietary formats, lacking documentation or inaccessible due to legal and technical barriers. This status quo serves monopolies, not society. Canada holds the G7 presidency in 2025, and can provide leadership in data governance and AI innovation. A central priority should be to rally partners around a framework for ethical, accessible and well-designed datasets, especially in fields like health, climate science and materials research. Our call for open data isn't one-size-fits-all. It must be tailored to the needs of specific sectors: Health-care AI requires anonymized patient data, genomic sequences, protein structure data, toxicology and carcinogen data, and drug response datasets. Climate AI needs long-term environmental records, satellite imagery, power and water use information and real-time emissions data. Materials science AI demands chemical interaction data, physical testing results, structural data and thermodynamic properties. What binds these fields is a common challenge: ensuring data is ethically sourced, high-quality, and useable across borders and institutions. Canada's role should be to help build the platforms - digital, legal and diplomatic - that make this possible. As host of the G7 in June, Canada can push for a transformative international commitment. At a minimum, this should include: These steps would position the G7 - and Canada in particular - as a champion of AI that serves democratic values on top of commercial and geopolitical interests. Canada is not starting from scratch. The country boasts leading AI research institutions, including the Vector Institute and Mila, and has pioneered open science partnerships such as the Montreal Neurological Institute's Tanenbaum Open Science Institute and the Toronto labs of the Structural Genomics Consortium. Dataset platforms such as AIRCHECK(for AI-based chemical knowledge) and the CACHE competition (evaluating drug discovery models using open data), show how Canada is already putting together the building blocks of responsible AI. But the country risks squandering this advantage if it cannot scale these efforts or retain innovation domestically. The stalled Artificial Intelligence and Data Act is a case in point. While the European Union moved forward with its AI Act, the General Data Protection Regulation and the European Health Data Space Regulation, Canada's legislative framework remains in flux. Without clear domestic rules, and a proactive global agenda, Canada could end up as an incubator for innovations that end up developed and applied elsewhere. The AI race is not just about who builds the most powerful models. It's about who defines the technical, ethical and geopolitical standards that shape the digital future. The G7 offers Canada a moment of strategic clarity. By investing in AI infrastructure and leading an international agenda on open, trustworthy AI, Canada can lead in shaping the rules.
