On May 27, Minister Anita Anand, President of the Treasury Board of Canada, convened a Ministerial Roundtable on Canada’s AI Strategy for the Federal Public Service to mark the commencement of a series of engagements to shape the content of the upcoming Canadian AI strategy for the public sector.
The Ministerial Roundtable gathered deputy ministers and senior officials from the Government of Canada as well as 10 representatives from academia and Canada’s national AI institutes to discuss key areas to explore in developing a strategy for the use of AI in the public service.
Dr. Florian Martin-Bariteau and Dr. Teresa Scassa were two of these experts who had the opportunity to exchange with the Minister and senior officials to offer their critical take on the government’s strategy, from rules regarding procurement to the need to simultaneously engage in a reform of the public sector’s Privacy Act and data governance frameworks, and to provide protection for whistleblowers within the federal public sector and industry.
Dr. Florian Martin-Bariteau is the University Research Chair in Technology and Society and an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law, Common Law Section at the University of Ottawa.
Dr. Teresa Scassa is the Canada Research Chair in Information Law and Policy and a Full Professor in the Faculty of Law, Common Law Section at the University of Ottawa.