The Liberal government is setting aside $2.4 billion in its upcoming budget to build capacity in artificial intelligence, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Sunday.
The bulk of that — $2 billion — is going into a fund that will aim to provide access to computing capabilities and technical infrastructure.
Trudeau made the announcement in Montreal as part of a pre-budget tour.
He said the federal government will begin consulting with industry soon on a new AI Compute Access Fund and an accompanying strategy to expand the sector in Canada.
“We want to help companies adopt AI in a way that will have positive impacts for everyone,” Trudeau said, adding that $200 million will go toward boosting the adoption of AI in sectors like agriculture, health care and clean technology.
The government plans to launch a $50-million AI safety institute to protect against what it calls “advanced or nefarious AI systems,” and another $5.1 million will go toward an office of the AI and Data Commissioner to enforce the proposed Artificial Intelligence and Data Act.
Bill C-27 is the first federal legislation specifically aimed at artificial intelligence. It would update privacy laws and introduce new obligations for “high-impact” systems.
The proposed law has been studied at committee since September 2023.
WATCH | Top AI expert discusses future of technology:
Artificial intelligence ‘godfather’ Yoshua Bengio opens up about his hopes and concerns
2 months ago
Duration 18:00
Concerned for humanity’s future, AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio is raising alarms about what could happen in 2024, while he urges Canada to build a $1-billion AI supercomputer.
Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Canada is a world leader in AI.
“Let’s stop asking what AI will do to us, and why don’t we start asking what we want AI to do for us,” he said.
Latest pre-budget announcement
The Liberals have been setting up their April 16 budget with a series of campaign-style stops across the country.
Last week’s announcements were focused on housing, including money to help build apartments and affordable units. Housing Minister Sean Fraser also said a full housing plan will be released ahead of budget day.
The federal Conservatives, meanwhile, have sent a letter to Trudeau outlining their demands for the fiscal plan.
Leader Pierre Poilievre’s letter to Trudeau says the prime minister’s “out-of-control inflationary spending” has caused interest rates to balloon and that “punishing taxes have pushed people over the edge.”
He called on the government to end the price on carbon, to require cities to permit 15 per cent more home building each year as a condition for receiving federal infrastructure money and to cap its spending, committing to find equivalent savings.
Poilievre said if those conditions are met, Conservatives will agree to support the budget.
But Trudeau fired back on Sunday: “The job of an opposition leader is to criticize the government, we get that. But it’s not to fearmonger,” he said.
Trudeau also insisted that Liberal policies like the price on carbon and funding to accelerate home construction do not drive inflation, adding that experts and economists are “almost unanimous” in saying so.
“Once again, Pierre Poilievre is wrong, is not listening to experts and economists,” he said.
The minority government has a supply-and-confidence deal with the New Democrats that will ensure their support on budgets and other fiscal measures so long as the Liberals advance key NDP priorities, including dental care and pharmacare.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
