Committee jurisdiction unresolved as MPs await study on privacy bill
Nearly six months after it was first introduced, the federal government’s proposed legislation to reform Canada’s decades-old privacy regime is still waiting to pass second reading and be referred to committee after unanimous consent to do so was twice denied. MPs and experts said the bill is an important piece of legislation that is being […]
Privacy and security go hand in hand—we need to treat them that way
There is a false dichotomy that is set up in security debates; it is either privacy or security. It is a zero-sum game. With Bill C-11 proposing sweeping changes to Canada’s private sector privacy laws, it is time for a mature, strategic, and informed discussion. We have to move beyond simple conceptions because the cost of failing to get […]
Experts question role of data commissioner as feds finally earmark funds
Buried in the 2021 federal budget is little more than a paragraph on creating a new regulator aimed at balancing the interests of personal privacy and companies trying to operate in a big data economy in the next few years. The budget proposed establishing a “data commissioner” with $17.6-million over five years starting in 2021-22, […]
Forewarned, forearmed: to be prepared is half the victory against the next pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us how ruefully unprepared we were. However, we must forgo the blame game. We must make sure we learned the lessons, have in hand what is needed, and protect those at risk. How a society treats its most vulnerable is the measure of its humanity. In the aftermath, we see […]
Ethical AI can unlock social and economic opportunity for Canada
Imagine that you are about to begin an important university exam. You sit down in front of your computer, already stressed because all learning and evaluations are now online due to COVID-19. Moments before the exam is about to begin, the university’s proctoring software, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to confirm each person’s identity, […]
The robot revolution is changing jobs and businesses in Canada
In 2017, I returned to Canada from Sweden, where I had spent a year working on automation in mining. Shortly after my return, The New York Times published a piece called, “The Robots Are Coming, and Sweden Is Fine,” about Sweden’s embrace of automation while limiting human costs. Although Swedes are apparently optimistic about their […]
Canada’s critical mineral wealth a gem for domestic advanced manufacturing, say experts and stakeholders
Canada has a vast array of critical minerals waiting to be tapped into to supply an increasingly important global demand that’s currently dominated by China, experts say, but an open question is how Canada plans to meet that demand. The Canadian government and industry can follow a similar path and be a natural resource export […]
Time for Canada to catch up on technological transformation
Nobel-prize winning economist Paul Krugman once quipped that “productivity isn’t everything, but in the long run it is almost everything.” He was referring to the fact that the wages of workers are intrinsically linked to productivity and that a country’s standard of living depends almost entirely on its ability to increase output per worker. Other […]
Canada has a running start in the technology leadership race
As we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, Canadians are now depending more than ever on reliable connectivity to stay in touch, work, and conduct business. The pandemic has presented new challenges which increasingly require digital solutions, and have brought to the fore pre-existing discussions on the vital role of emerging technologies. The potential benefits […]
Mining is on a strategic roll
The Canadian mining sector has been a vital cog in the country’s economy during the pandemic, with the importance of the industry growing steadily over time. Operations and exploration continued during the COVID-19 outbreak, collaborations with Indigenous communities expanded, technological sophistication accelerated, and, at a time when environmental assessment processes deter investment in Canada, international […]
