Apr 22ISED’s Bill C-27 + AIDA. Part 4: Calling on Federal MPs For a Necessary Defense of Democratic ProcessAIDA is anti-democratic and needs to be shut down This is the fourth in a four part series on AIDA. Post one is here, two is here, and three is here. How Did We Get Here? Before the last federal election, there were public consultations and conversations that fell under…Democracy8 min readDemocracy8 min read
Mar 30Consensus Does Not Equal Political LegitimacyHuman(s) in the Loop, Humans are the Loop By Bianca Wylie and Liz Barry Consensus as Myth Consensus is a myth. This idea was shared with me years ago, handed down through others that have worked for decades in public engagement and facilitation. It’s a phrase that stuck, challenging me…Democracy14 min readDemocracy14 min read
Dec 1, 2022City of Toronto, PayIt, and Unsolicited Procurement Process RecordsAn Update on Records Requests and the Mediation Process Yesterday I had the mediation call that was the result of an appeal to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario on records requests made to the City. …Procurement13 min readProcurement13 min read
Nov 28, 2022My Opening Statement to the ETHI Committee About ArriveCANNovember 28, 2022 Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you about ArriveCAN today. Our firm, Digital Public, does work focused on digital transformation, both in government and more broadly. …Democracy4 min readDemocracy4 min read
Oct 30, 2022ISED’s Bill C-27 + AIDA. Part 3: Contravention by ComplianceFive Major Problems with AIDA This is the third in a four part series of posts on the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act that is part of the Canadian federal Bill C-27. To start with what AIDA is, in very basic terms, see the second post. And for some history…Ised8 min readIsed8 min read
Oct 24, 2022ISED’s Bill C-27 + AIDA. Part 2: What is AIDA?The 5 Ws of AIDA This is the second in a four part series on the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act (AIDA). The first post has some vital history on human rights and previous efforts to legislate tech in canada, this second post is not about analysis but rather a…Canada5 min readCanada5 min read
Oct 10, 2022Supremacy of Error and Argument. We Know Enough to Say No to AI Law.The Allure of False Complexity As I consider the days and weeks ahead of reading, writing, administrative hustling, and organizing around Bill C-27, a few baseline thoughts about why. Why to spend some time, not a lot, but not none, on this topic. …Democracy8 min readDemocracy8 min read
Oct 9, 2022ISED’s Bill C-27 + AIDA. Part 1: Tech, Human Rights, and the Year 2000What Are We Actually Worried About Here? This is a series of posts on the AI and Data Act (AIDA) portion of Bill C-27. To begin, we’re going to go back in time a bit to put some longer context around the current government effort to legislate AI in Canada…Artificial Intelligence6 min readArtificial Intelligence6 min read
Aug 25, 2022The City of Toronto, PayIt, and Public Access to Information. Status Report, August 2022.Auditor General, Project Status, FOI adventures, and More It has been two months since I last posted a series of PayIt tweets, for archival purposes. …Procurement7 min readProcurement7 min read
Aug 23, 2022The ArriveCAN Mess is the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Own Making. What Happens Sept 30?Decision on Mandatory App Narrative Has PHAC Backed Into Corner This is the eighth post in a series on ArriveCAN, please see prior posts for more context and background. This post is about the confusion regarding ArriveCAN’s purpose, a reminder of how/why we got here — from a legal and…Democracy12 min readDemocracy12 min read
