The House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry and Technology (INDU) met on March 9, 2026, to study artificial intelligence and Canada's strategic industries. Witnesses included Wyatt Tessari L'Allié (Founder and Executive Director, AI Governance and Safety Canada), Professor David Duvenaud (Associate Professor of Computer Science, University of Toronto), Dugan O'Neil (Vice-President, Research and Innovation, Simon Fraser University), Professor James Elder (Professor and Research Chair, Human and Computer Vision, York University), Dr. Teresa Scassa (Canada Research Chair in Information Law and Policy, University of Ottawa), and Julien Billot (Chief Executive Officer, Scale AI).
Wyatt Tessari L'Allié argued that recent breakthroughs in AI agents—systems that can act autonomously in the real world—have created a national security emergency, citing incidents where agents hacked government systems, stole passwords, and evaded shutdown. He recommended an immediate moratorium on the latest generation of AI agents, a permanent task force chaired by the Prime Minister, and global talks to lay groundwork for an AI treaty, while also calling for improved monitoring and defence capacity.
Professor David Duvenaud warned that AI is on track to make most humans economically obsolete within five to ten years, leading to a permanent loss of bargaining power for workers and governments becoming less responsive to citizens. He argued that no coherent plan exists from AI companies to address this, and that global coordination is necessary because no country can unilaterally slow human replacement.
Dugan O'Neil emphasized the need for sovereign AI capacity through sustained investment in research institutions and advanced computing infrastructure, noting that Canada is the only G7 country without a top-30 public supercomputer. He recommended leveraging the convergence of AI and quantum technologies, supporting workforce upskilling, and ensuring Canadian companies have domestic tools to compete globally.
Professor James Elder highlighted opportunities in applied AI for sectors like health care, agriculture, and smart cities, while warning that the risk of missing out economically is significant. He called for federal support for post-secondary research and training, collaborative applied AI research, and clear legislation on watermarking AI content to protect data sovereignty and political security.
Dr. Teresa Scassa noted that while Canada has considerable sectoral AI regulation, it is fragmented and lacks oversight and compliance mechanisms, undermining public trust. She recommended a national coordinating body for coherence and transparency, an ombuds function for public concerns, and a clear AI governance strategy with continued public consultation.
Julien Billot argued that Canada must build a sovereign AI value chain by 2030, focusing on applied AI for industry rather than large language models, which he said raise fewer regulatory issues. He called for sustained federal investment and visibility through the new AI strategy to scale support for Canadian companies, and noted that foreign data storage can be managed through hosting requirements.
During questions, Tessari L'Allié and Duvenaud agreed that a permanent task force chaired by the Prime Minister is necessary due to the speed and severity of AI risks, with Duvenaud adding that upgrading institutions to be robustly aligned with humans is a huge task. O'Neil stressed that without sovereign compute infrastructure, Canada will be permanently beholden to foreign technology. Elder noted that deep learning models still diverge from human cognition, requiring continued research. Scassa criticized the lack of public consultation before Bill C-27 and said a special committee on AI would be helpful. Billot emphasized that AI for industry is about augmenting workers, not displacing them, and that delays in federal funding visibility jeopardize investment. No procedural debate, motions, or votes occurred during the meeting.
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