For the federal government, I think the advice we've given around the deployment of AI in industry is that our business partners are looking for clarity on rules. We've not really encountered companies or stakeholders that are vehemently anti-regulation. They just want clear rules.
On the legislation that was previously tabled by the federal government, the former Bill C-27, one of the main criticisms of that legislation was that it outlined penalties for non-compliance with the legislation but failed to articulate what the exact rules are. For our business partners, one of the things they have articulated as being of importance to them for long-term planning, especially in capital-intensive industries like the manufacturers Mr. Myers works with, is that you will not be able to plan a three- to five-year capital outlay or long-term investment if you don't know what the rules are.
I think the other major piece of advice we've given to the government as they consider things in the legislative and regulatory space is that, to the extent that the government does consider legislation and regulations, whatever options the government considers, it also needs to consider the interoperability of those standards across jurisdictions.
It's an unfortunate truth that Canada in and of itself as a jurisdiction is not big enough to set a global standard. It's not to say that we shouldn't have standards, but they need to be compatible with international standards such as those used by the OECD, the European Union or the U.S.
Whatever the right answer is, we're not necessarily sure. We know and we would suggest that the incorrect answer is for Canada to develop standards that are not compatible with those of any other jurisdiction.