March 23, 2026 – BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) welcomes the opportunity to support the People’s Consultation on AI. Focusing on FIPA’s core policy concerns addressing a range of risks and opportunities, Ryan Rutley drafted the following submission to the Consultation.
Since ChatGPT was opened to the public in November 2022, technologies based on – or at least promising – AI have proliferated. In Canada, the regulatory response has been hands-off – no jurisdiction in Canada has passed legislation regulating the use of AI. Lack of regulation or even substantive cautionary policy opens public bodies to decisions based on hype, high-minded promises, and fear of being left behind in an imagined AI-centric future.
FIPA has long advocated for effective and responsive access to information that enables civil society and the public to hold governments accountable. Though there is some hope that AI technologies may improve responsiveness, the effects of AI on decisions making and data processing must be carefully considered.
FIPA is particularly concerned with the potential for AI tools to worsen misuse of Canadians’ data in the political realm. What few protections against misuse by AI exist in Federal privacy law does not apply to the Federal political parties (FPPs), and they are eager to keep it that way. Even if FPPs are acting faultlessly, they remain a target for bad actors to access the information they hold on citizens.
Governments throughout Canada must resist the tide of AI hype. When new technologies are introduced without long-term consideration of their effects, there is room for cracks in our democratic institutions to widen.
FIPA is proud to submit this information to the Consultation and is thankful for the opportunity to do so. We continue to advocate policy and law that protects Canadians’ privacy and supports government transparency.
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