Hello, welcome to Politics Insider. Let’s look at what happened today.
Google’s chief economist says the federal government is on the right path with its “AI for all” approach as Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon prepares to launch a national AI strategy this week.
Andrew Willis reports that Dr. Fabien Curto Millet, Google’s San Francisco-based chief economist, said the government’s disclosure to date on its long-awaited AI policy framework shows the minister understands artificial intelligence tools need to be broadly understood and used to realize their full economic benefit.
In the coming week, Solomon is expected to unveil a strategy the rookie parliamentarian has said will strike a balance between AI cheerleaders and those who are completely opposed to the technology, in part over fear of lost jobs.
He was not immediately available to comment on it. The minister previously promised to announce the policy by the end of last year.
“I like the government’s title of ‘AI for all,’” Millet said in an interview.
“If you let AI happen on autopilot, you will have big companies adopting quickly, but you will get jaggedness or uneven adoption, on multiple levels,” he said.
“The role of government is to be the guiding intelligence that can iron out jaggedness so everyone can benefit from AI,” Millet said. He said governments need to guard against “gender divides, age divides and sectoral divides.”
In other news, the federal government’s artificial intelligence strategy will include up to $100-million in funding to expand an Ontario-based health data project called Vital across the country.
Vital and its predecessor program Gemini have already helped researchers glean insights to improve patient outcomes, while saving the health care system money and freeing up hospital beds in Ontario.
Sean Silcoff and Joe Castaldo report that the rollout across eight more provinces, which has already started in Quebec and Alberta, is meant to address long-standing concerns that Canada has fallen behind in mining its health care data for system improvements and economic benefit.
The project uses an approach called federated AI, meaning the underlying information remains within each province or territory’s borders so as not to compromise jurisdictional constraints.
“Better health care depends on better use of data,” Solomon said in a statement.
Vital, he added, can turn clinical data now fragmented across institutions, provinces and territories “into modern, secure health infrastructure that can support better research, stronger innovation and improved care.”
Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon in Vancouver last month.Rich Lam/The Canadian Press
What else is going on
Canada Post workers overwhelmingly vote to approve new contract: Postal workers have given the thumbs-up to a new contract, casting their ballots overwhelmingly to approve a tentative agreement after more than two years of labour strife.
Trans Mountain pipeline will run at full capacity in June, CEO says: Mark Maki attributed this month’s high flow to a combination of factors, including production growth in Alberta, other pipelines out of the province being largely full, and the continuing global energy crisis exacerbated by the war in Iran.
Funding for Toronto-area public housing needs to more than double to reduce homelessness, study says: Increased funding would house more of the region’s residents, improve their lives and alleviate the pressure on the public system, according to a study conducted by Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis, a socioeconomic analytics and advisory firm.
Doug Ford and billionaire businessman Ross Perot Jr. to co-host reception in Washington: The June 8 gathering is part of the Ontario Premier’s renewed efforts to push for stronger economic ties between Canada and the United States at a critical juncture in trade negotiations.
New B.C. Conservative Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay promises to unite party after identity crisis: “Faith, family and freedom, that’s what it’s all about,” the former Conservative MP and federal cabinet minister, who does not have a seat in the legislature, said in her victory speech.
On our radar
Prime Minister’s Day: In the Ottawa-area community of Nepean, Mark Carney toured a homebuilding site and, later, in Toronto, outlined the next steps in the government’s effort to combat antisemitism and hate in Canada.
Party Leaders: In Ottawa, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre held a news conference on Parliament Hill. Green Party Leader Elizabeth May attended the annual memorial service and reception hosted by the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians to honour the lives and legacies of former parliamentarians who have passed away in the past year. She was also at the House of Commons later in the day. No schedules released for other party leaders.
New Democrat proposes floor-crossing limits: New Democrat Don Davies will introduce legislation on Tuesday to ban MPs from crossing the floor without the approval of their constituents. According to a statement, Davies’s bill would require MPs who wish to join another party to first obtain consent from their voters through a by-election or otherwise sit as independents until the next general election. Davies will elaborate at a news conference on Parliament Hill on Tuesday.
Quote of the Day
“While no one will deny that democracy can be loud and messy, this impression is at odds with the truth, which is that Parliamentarians are a family, a large and sometimes noisy one perhaps, but one that is joined nevertheless by very strong bonds of collegiality and personal respect.” - House of Commons Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia speaks at the annual memorial service in the Senate today to honour parliamentarians and former parliamentarians who have passed away in the last year. The event is held by the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians.
Question period
BC Conservatives have elected former Conservative MP and cabinet minister Kerry-Lynne Findlay as their leader. Who was the last Conservative premier of British Columbia?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Perspectives
As Canada faces crippling debt, it must do the unpopular thing and cut elderly benefits
To truly transform federal finances, the Carney government must reduce spending, even in areas that are politically unpopular. And to truly be ambitious, it should start by reducing elderly benefits – Ottawa’s largest single spending item.
— Grady Munro is a senior policy analyst and Jake Fuss is director of fiscal studies at the Fraser Institute.
Steven Guilbeault’s resignation from Liberal caucus and putting water in your climate policy wine
Mr. Guilbeault is a true believer, fully committed to a cause for which he would never be able to swallow water with his wine. He did not make noisy threats about the Carney government’s new direction – he simply walked away when it no longer seemed like the place for him.
— Shannon Proudfoot, feature writer
Canada’s AI strategy is set to fail before it even launches
The forthcoming national strategy will surely seek to establish an ambitious vision for AI in Canada. But it cannot succeed while the government keeps advancing policies that make the country a riskier, costlier, and less welcoming place to build and use the technology.
— Michael Geist
Go deeper
- Follow along for our stories on Canada-U.S. relations as news develops
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The answer to today’s question: Simon Fraser Tolmie, the B.C. premier from 1928 to 1933. In recent decades, the governance of B.C. has been divided between the centre-right parties Social Credit and the B.C. Liberals on one side and the provincial NDP on the other.
Editor’s note: This article has been corrected to state that Simon Fraser Tolmie was the B.C. premier from 1928 to 1933.