Technology changes to be studied by all-party caucus in Parliament

The rapid pace of change in the technology sector has led a group of Parliamentarians to form an emerging technology caucus where members of all parties can learn about the brave new world. The caucus was the brainchild of Alberta Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner who tweeted out the idea and was flooded with responses. Liberal MP Anthony Housefather was considering establishing a similar group within his party caucus but aligned with the larger gathering when he read Rempel Garner’s tweet. There are four co-chairs of the caucus, Rempel Garner from the Tories, Housefather for the Grits, Windsor MP Brian Masse for the NDP, and independent senator Colin Deacon from the Senate. Bloc MP Sébastien Lemire has indicated he will join, representing his party. About 30 Parliamentarians have signed on to the group with more expected in the coming weeks. Caucus members say technology is advancing more rapidly than the government has time to respond. “Ottawa tends to regulate in decades and it is not agile in how it regulates,” Deacon told the Wire Report. “The technologies that are coming forward don’t fit in a committee in the House or the Senate. The implications cut across virtually all committees.” Rempel Garner echoed those sentiments. “It’s no secret that we’ve seen rapid advances in technology that raise broad societal questions on impacts of all sorts of different aspects of the economy, life etc.,” she said in an interview. “And some of these questions are not esoteric, we’re facing them right now.” The caucus has held one meeting already and met with industry stakeholders. The question of how much regulation is needed and how hands off the government should be to foster innovation was raised at the session. Many industry people and academics are clamoring to give the caucus the benefit of their insight. Rempel Garner, who served in Stephen Harper’s cabinet, pointed to concerns about misinformation, the emergence of artificial intelligence programs and the proliferation of deep fake memes on social media as topics to be looked at by the group. “This caucus is an attempt to bridge that knowledge gap in a short period of time,’ she stated. Her comments found common cause with Liberal MP Lisa Hepfner, another member of the caucus. “I think it’s really important that we stay on top of this technology,” she told the Wire Report. She has raised the issue with the Ethics committee on which she sits, as privacy concerns are paramount in the tech sector. She also thinks there could be applications for the other committee on which she serves, Canadian Heritage. That revolves around questions of Canadian culture. Deacon believes Canadians must manage new technologies if they are to improve development in the economy. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that Canada will have the slowest growing economy among all its member countries for decades to come if current trends continue. “We have to change that if our grandchildren are going to have any sort of standard of living.” The senator said he plans to raise the topic of caucus membership with more of his colleagues in the Red Chamber before Parliament adjourns for the summer. –Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca and editing by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca.

Technology changes to be studied by all-party caucus in Parliament

Broadcast | June 16, 2023

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