2:32 p.m.
Hello advisors. I just received this request to sign on to a letter
asking for more/longer/better consultation on AI. The consultation
proposed by ISED will only run 30 days. Looks like the deadline to sign
on to this letter is Oct. 30 so I will need a quick response. You can
read the letter in the link below. Individuals can sign on using the
form but I am seeking your permission to sign TC on as an organization.
I think it would also be great if we chose, as a group, to participate
in the consultation that is proposed as an alternative. This initiative
is spearheaded by Fenwick Mckelvey -- well know communications and info.
technology prof. at Concordia.
*rom:* acc-cca-L <acc-cca-l-bounces(a)mailman.ucalgary.ca> on behalf of
Fenwick Mckelvey <fenwick.mckelvey(a)concordia.ca>
*Sent:* Friday, October 24, 2025 2:12 PM
*To:* CCA Listserv <acc-cca-l(a)mailman.ucalgary.ca>
*Subject:* [acc-cca-l] Public opposition to 30 AI Sprint / People's
Consultation on AI
[△EXTERNAL]
Hi all
I'm writing to let you know about a Canada-wide civil society
initiative, spearheaded by several civil liberties and digital rights
organizations and individuals who were active on Bill 27's Artificial
Intelligence and Data Act (AIDA), to protest the federal government's
thirty-day "National Sprint" on AI, and ask if you or your organization
would be willing to sign a joint letter to that effect.
We explain in the letter, among other critiques, that thirty days is an
unreasonably short window of consultation given the far-reaching scope
and depth of AI's impacts on society; canvas the wide range of known
AI-related harms that are already evident today; and ask for a deadline
extension to February 2026. For me, the short timeline does not address
concerns raised in my own research around the lack of meaningful public
engagement on: https://www.amo-oma.ca/en/ai-policy-report/ and
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1007/s00146-024-01952-w
We are also setting up a parallel civil society process, the People's
Consultation on AI, so that those whose input should be considered but
do not have capacity to meet the government's rushed timeline, will
still have an opportunity to have their say.
The sign-on form and letter itself are available here:
https://cryptpad.fr/form/#/2/form/view/jYtfY12tSWH-oYCUGBv06BDpLm97LNcVEa...
Please note that signing the letter does not mean committing to
participating in the People's Consultation on AI, and that a French
translation will be available in the upcoming days.
If you could circulate this letter to other individuals and NGOs you
believe would be interested, in particular those who may not have been
previously involved in tech or AI issues but whose communities are or
would be impacted, that would be greatly appreciated.
Let me know if you have any questions, and thank you so much for
considering!
Be good,
Fenwick
Marita