Information & Ethics Committee on Feb. 5th, 2026

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Has the $1.7 billion you just mentioned helped to attract any talent yet?

[Mark Schaan]

The universities and research councils are working hard right now to make sure the program moves ahead quickly. I was there when discussions with university vice-presidents took place, launching the process. Things are looking good so far, but the process isn't over. The universities and research councils need to keep working, but the first signs are positive.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

That's excellent. I'm glad to hear it.

You said 130 researchers have come here since the pan-Canadian AI strategy was launched. Do you expect that a certain number of people outside the country will join their ranks?

[Mark Schaan]

Absolutely. It's interesting, because the CIFAR AI chairs continued their work throughout the period following the strategy's launch. The most recent chair appointments are incredibly interesting. There are new chairs in health, energy, manufacturing and other extremely interesting fields that use AI in their economic sectors.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Thank you. That is quite interesting.

How does the government intend to protect our digital sovereignty? The minister talked a bit about that earlier, referring to the negotiations with our neighbour to the south, whom we're having a hard time with. How should we approach the matter, knowing how interconnected we are? I'd like to hear your comments on that.

[Mark Schaan]

Digital sovereignty is definitely more of a sensitive area, one that presents more complications. In the AI value chain, it's not possible for a country like Canada to have all the value chains here. For instance, the top chip makers are in the U.S. Taiwan makes them as well. It's tough for Canada to have a champion in that sector right now.

Strategic autonomy in the AI value chain is something the government and the department really have to build. That relates not only to data centres and infrastructure, but also to research areas with comparative advantages, and companies that are really champions in vertical AI solutions, for instance, in health care and energy. Our digital sovereignty will really grow when we're able to have Canadian capacity and resources located here, in Canada, while purchasing that capacity from other places in the world so it can be exported.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

I know that here in the Ottawa area, we have leaders in the field of photonics. That's also the case at Université de Sherbrooke. I got to see a component that's used in large data centres, in fact, but you brought up chips. As I understand it, we don't make any here in Canada.

Is that true?

[Mark Schaan]

We don't have any large-scale manufacturing in Canada right now, but we do have certain elements of the chip value chain. One that comes to mind is the Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre, which has the capacity to manufacture III‑V chips. They don't really use silicone, but they have other really interesting manufacturing methods. That capacity exists here in Canada.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Thank you very much. That's quite interesting.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Brassard]

Thank you, Ms. Lapointe.

Mr. Thériault, over to you for six minutes.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Schaan, this is an odd question, but we have a new AI department, so can you tell us about your background?

[Mark Schaan]

I graduated from the University of Waterloo with a political science degree. Then I got a master's degree and Ph.D. in social policy at Oxford University.

My career in the public service has covered a number of interesting areas, including social policy. When I was the director general of the marketplace framework policy branch, I developed the first regulatory approach for AI in Canada. I was also involved in establishing new international AI organizations, namely the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Now I understand the connection.

You heard my line of questioning earlier. A lot of people have sounded the alarm about super AI. You spoke about competitiveness. Here, we are investing $1.7 billion, while our neighbour to the south is investing $400 billion. We'll never be able to compete with that.

Nevertheless, the witnesses we've heard from told us that we may very well need to apply what the Prime Minister said in his Davos speech to how AI research is organized around the world. Perhaps middle powers should work together, especially to lay the foundations for an international AI treaty.

Would an initiative like that fall under your strategy? If not, don't you think that's irresponsible vis-à-vis everyone in our society, given that we have a real problem?

One witness, Mr. Miotti, told us that it was crucial for Canada to, one, prohibit the development of super AI on its soil and, two, encourage other countries to do the same by laying the groundwork for an international treaty.

What's your position on that?

Didn't you hear that from people during your consultations, unless they all refused to participate, preferring to publish their assessments in the form of briefs at some point?

[Mark Schaan]

I'd like to thank the member for his question.

Research on the future of AI and the possibilities that super AI, and AI in general, hold is a key element of Canada's ecosystem, as is the government's support for building that capacity.

For example, the Canadian AI Safety Institute is very aware of the possibilities AI offers. In addition, the advisory council on artificial intelligence has a subcommittee that looks at the issues associated with the safe and responsible use of AI. Yoshua Bengio is on the committee, and so is Joëlle Pineau.

In fact, we have a good relationship with Mr. Bengio's new organization, LawZero. It does research on advanced AI, in order to promote the more responsible management of AI in a way that is simpler for Canadians and all citizens of the world.

It's important to note what Mr. Bengio said in the conclusion of his report for the UN on the state of AI in the world. He said that there was no consensus on the future of AI, and that it was up to governments and societies to determine the future and trajectory of AI. That is why one of the pillars of our strategy is about protecting Canadians. That includes research into the responsible use and reliability of AI. It's also important that all countries put money and effort into developing assessment standards and advancing research on AI's potential to benefit all Canadians and citizens of the world.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

In concrete terms, what are you going to do to foster that sense of community and international co-operation? You can't do it alone. Just because Canada decides that AI will be deployed responsibly in accordance with the will of citizens does not mean that it's going to happen. That's not how things work.

As we speak, the technology is even surpassing the people developing it. It can't be controlled; you know that better than me. It's reassuring to hear that your strategy addresses that control, but I haven't heard about how the strategy is being deployed. What's being done?

[Mark Schaan]

There are three points I want to highlight.

First, the government is engaging multilaterally, namely with the creation of the International Network of AI Safety Institutes, which brings together Australia, the U.S., France, Germany and South Korea, among others. Canada is leading one of the pillars of that initiative, with its research on the risks associated with synthetic content.

Second, Canada is engaging bilaterally. Canada signed a new agreement with Germany with respect to digital affairs. Co-operation on AI safety research is an element of the agreement.

Lastly, the government is supporting the work of external experts in the field. That includes support for LawZero and our research community, to step up those efforts domestically and globally.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Brassard]

Thank you.

Pardon me, Mr. Thériault, I made a mistake with your time. I gave you an extra minute.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

It was useful.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Brassard]

It's fine.

I want to thank our witnesses for their patience, first and foremost, and for their input.

I have no other business.

Have a great weekend, everyone. I'll see you on Monday afternoon.

The meeting is adjourned.