Navigator logo

Category: Chairman’s Desk

Public policy must keep up with advances in deepfake technology

Posted on by

Generative AI represent a threat different from those posed by social media, the internet and other innovations we have failed to adequately legislate

Like any good tourist, U.S. President Joe Biden was only searching for an authentic Canadian experience. And here they are, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and thrill-seeking Joe, white water rafting on the Ottawa River. A six-pack of Canadian dangles over the raft’s edge and Biden’s wearing that trademark toothy grin. Just a couple of buddies enjoying the outdoors. Even the beavers are applauding.

Is it a scene from the latest Monkman? Fantasy or a nightmare? Dream or reality? Can’t tell? Welcome to 2023, ladies and gentlemen.

If you think the image I describe cannot be generated then you haven’t been paying attention to the menace that is deepfake technology.

And here’s your news flash: while we can be amused by the fun such a picture can create, there is nothing funny in the least about its threat to people’s privacy, safety, sanity, and our very way of life.

Some moments in history demand a comprehensive public policy response to extinguish nascent, but dangerous, developments.

We are at that moment.

Make no mistake, the latest advancements in generative AI represent a threat entirely different from those posed by social media, the internet, and other innovations we have failed to adequately legislate over the last two decades.

Case in point. As rumours swirled that Donald Trump was to be arrested in New York this week, hyperrealistic images of him being aggressively detained circulated on social media. They were provocative, jarring, totally fake and precisely the kind of thing that has the potential not only to kick-start a virtual media storm but genuine civil unrest.

These developments also give numerous crimes, including doxing, extortion, and intellectual property theft a frightening upgrade — imperilling the livelihoods of not just politicians or celebrities but all of us.

The bottom line? Canadian institutions must move with urgency, and develop policies that lead, rather than wait, on this critical matter.

While we can’t put the genie back in the bottle, there are important steps that should have been taken yesterday. First, we must enhance our legal framework. Legislation should be clearly amended to criminalize malicious deepfake creation and distribution. Here we should follow Quebec’s lead. Quebec’s Civil Code already provides a remedy for invasion of privacy using a person’s name, image, likeness, or voice, and this concept should be broadly implemented.

Public-private collaboration is paramount. Partnerships between government, tech companies, and academia focused specifically on improving deepfake detection and prevention technologies, will help combat the threat. Internet companies have been using sophisticated AI to combat deepfakes on their platforms for years now. Our government needs to lean on the expertise of the tech sector which, frankly, knows this issue better than they do.

Education is also vital. Implementing digital literacy and public awareness campaigns about deepfakes and their potential consequences will empower Canadians to play an active role in combating them. News and social media sites should be encouraged to implement systems for flagging doctored images that will help users distinguish between genuine and manipulated content.

Finally, we must seek out international co-operation. Shared norms and strategies for combating deepfakes will ensure a more effective and co-ordinated response to the borderless nature of the deepfake threats. By advocating for global standards that address the deepfake challenge, we make it harder for malicious actors to exploit jurisdictional differences to evade consequences. Here Canada can play an important role and, jokes aside, I hope the topic was raised between Biden and Trudeau this week.

Deepfakes underscore the necessity for government intervention during times of great technological change.

Safeguarding our democratic institutions, protecting individual privacy, and maintaining social cohesion are fundamental responsibilities of government. Tackling the deepfake threat is critical to preserving the integrity of our political discourse and building a more secure future for all citizens, so they feel safe not only in their everyday lives but in cyberspace too.

This article first appeared in the Toronto Star on March 26, 2023.

READ MORE >

When fighting Goliathes, Canada should be David

Posted on by

“To fully exploit the opportunities, we must be prepared to spend not millions, but billions. Not on broad subsidies, but on laser-targeted incentives.”

Should governments be in the business of picking winners and losers? Well, for many conservatives, including this one, the answer was always no. And the answer was no for a very good reason: governments are very bad at it.

But here’s a news flash: in today’s economic climate, the debate is over and our governments have no other choice but to pick.

And the reason for this is that the ground has shifted under us all. Before us now, there’s no fictional land of Pollyanna, where government subsidies and incentives don’t exist, where our American friends aren’t dangling far juicier, far larger carrots before global businesses enticing them to set up shop down south.

They are. They will continue to. And the only certain thing is that their incentives will grow more generous and aggressively so.

Whether we like it or not, this is our reality. So, the question must be: how does Canada compete, particularly against a neighbour with far deeper pockets? The answer? By taking three vital steps.

First, we need to reframe the debate. Relitigating whether governments should pick winners or losers is obsolete when the world’s largest economy and our biggest competitor for investment is doing exactly this and making no bones about it.

Our energies must instead be squarely focused not if, but how, we choose winners. This does not mean abandoning all sense of fiscal restraint. Nor does it mean there won’t be losers since no market is truly free without them. What it does mean is ensuring we thoughtfully choose amongst opportunities that will incentivize the most productive potentials within our economy and that play to our natural strengths. It means building funding programs with robust strings attached that guarantee Canadian interests, for taxpayers and workers alike, and entice those with capital to spend.

Accordingly, second, we must draw practical inspiration from our competitors. As the federal budget release approaches, two of the Biden administration’s major recent initiatives are on everyone’s lips. The CHIPS Act, providing US$280 billion for American advanced research and manufacturing of semiconductors, and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), allocating billions more toward clean energy. Both these baskets of taxpayer-financed programs include astonishingly generous incentives and grants to attract business.

By these numbers alone, it’s clear that Canada cannot aim to simply duplicate such programs. But although we cannot match the U.S. dollar for dollar, we can and should focus our limited resources on specific areas where we know we can contribute an indispensable component in newly forming supply chains. Though we will never be Goliath, surely we can be David.

Therefore, third and finally, we must find and loudly trumpet where we punch above our weight.

Case in point. Last week’s announcement that Volkswagen will construct its first North American “gigafactory” in St. Thomas, Ont., for battery cell manufacturing is a major victory. This is not an anomaly but a road map.

A recent Clean Energy Canada report highlighted that Canada, with the right approach, can become an electric vehicle battery powerhouse — with $48 billion flowing into our economy annually.

Why? Because all the indispensable ingredients are right here in the True North, Strong and Free. A domestic supply of necessary critical minerals. A highly educated workforce. Political stability. Free trade agreements. Low carbon electricity in our manufacturing heartland. It’s a golden opportunity, and irrespective of Biden’s vast carrot patch south of the border, businesses like VW have taken notice.

To fully exploit these opportunities, we must be prepared to spend not millions, but billions. Not on broad subsidies, but on laser-targeted incentives. And let’s be clear: this kind of bold and committed action, the kind our reality demands, is exactly what government is for.

In the biblical tale of David and Goliath, diminutive David understood that he had one advantage, not size or strength, but his sling. If Canada intends to avoid being trampled by our competitors, we must pick up our rocks, aim high and start slinging.

This article first appeared in the Toronto Star on March 20, 2023.

READ MORE >

One member, one vote won’t save Ontario Liberal Party

Posted on by

The party desperately needs a winning message, a big idea that animates voters, especially young voters.

Its funny how some things take on the ability to solve all kinds of problems. The Ontario Liberal Party’s decision to adopt a one-member-one-vote system is one of those things.

Talking to Liberals, one member, one vote will single-handedly usher in an electrifying new era for their party. Like a snake shedding its worn skin, it will allow the Liberals to emerge as an exciting and vibrant new player in provincial politics. It will end the insularity that has plagued them for years. And, oh, it will allow its members to feel optimistic and hopeful about their future.

Wow, that’s a lot of heavy lifting for one procedural amendment.

Well, at the risk of being a skunk at a garden party, I don’t think this is going to have the intended effect. In fact, I think there is a good chance it will come back and bite them in the you-know-what (this is a family newspaper, after all).

Here’s why.

The party desperately needs a winning message, a big idea that animates voters, especially young voters. Millennials and Gen Z represent an increasingly significant voting bloc. Those voters are looking for policies and ideas that excite them. That hold the promise for a better life for them. For their families. For those around them. For the planet.

And a new voting system isn’t an idea those voters are looking for. And in any case, the Liberals are late to the party. This isn’t a new idea; every one of their major competitors beat them to the punch.

But more than that, this system is nothing but trouble for centrist parties. Whilst at first glance it seems to be more inclusive and welcoming — and in many ways it is — on second and third glance, it causes more problems than it solves.

That’s because the one-member-one-vote systems blows open the door to outside activist movements and special interest groups who have no connection to the party or to its long-term interests.

So while one-member-one-vote will likely break up the current insider hegemony that has not served the party well, it increases the risk that those running to lead the party will be drawn to proposing policy options that are designed to attract narrow segments of the voter base.

Under the new rules, while this may be an effective — even a winning — campaign strategy, it’s not likely to be in the best long-term interests of a party that has “centrist” as core to its DNA.

Determined to win, the urge to think short-term will be hard for candidates to resist. But there’s nothing short-term about the challenge the party faces. And therein lies the tension between the needs of the party and the needs of the campaigns of those who seek to lead it.

Given that, as Bismarck said, politics is the art of the possible and given populist, grassroots activism is how the game is played nowadays, the shift may have been inevitable. But it won’t alone move the needle, and will put the Liberals’ centrist, moderate credentials to the test.

I have not only battled the Grits many times, I’ve lost to them more times than I care to recount and I know the party is at its most formidable when it presents voters with a plan that couples economic prosperity with a view of social progressivism.

Striking that balance just got harder.

The last federal Conservative race was a bitter one and one candidate was disqualified for improper campaigning. In British Columbia, the most recent NDP leadership race saw an outsider activist candidate eventually disqualified. The Ontario Liberal’s brand can hardly afford to take such hits.

All that said, the leadership race has shown some signs of life with several credible candidates rumoured to be about to jump in. Only time will tell if any of them bring forward that audacious, inspiring idea that will turn the party’s fortunes around.

 

This article first appeared in the Toronto Star on March 12, 2023.

READ MORE >

How an organ donation saved my life

Posted on by

Canada’s organ donor rates are significantly lower than the U.S., Spain, and France. And I can’t imagine any Canadians who thinks that’s OK.

If the headline didn’t already give it away, well then — spoiler alert — this column takes a wide turn from the politics I usually write about, to the personal, which I seldom do.

A year ago I had a kidney transplant.

Since then, my life has changed in ways I never dreamt possible. To be able to dream of something, you must be able to imagine it. But I could never have imagined my life today, much less dreamt of it. In fact, I have no memory of feeling this good.

Before my surgery, I had been living with end-stage kidney disease. And like many other illnesses that develop over time, you get used to things being just as they are. But with kidney disease, you eventually get to a very bad place. A place where you are faced with three options: do nothing and die; undergo dialysis; or get a new kidney.

And so while it is a surprise to many, a transplant is the treatment of choice for this disease. And that’s what I was blessed enough to have.

In every respect, I won the lottery of life. My partner and I were a match. I live in Toronto — the best place, on the evidence, on the planet to have your kidney transplanted. And our medicare system ensured I wouldn’t be wiped out financially.

Fortunate as I was, many are not. According to Canadian Blood Services, over 4,000 Canadians are waiting for not just a life-saving, but a life-transforming, organ transplant. And this is no comfortable “wait.” People really suffer; their lives deteriorate daily. And most tragically of all, the most unnecessary and painful fact is that — each year — for hundreds of our fellow citizens time runs out and they die while waiting.

The reason for this is no mystery: there are simply not enough organs to meet the demand. And the solution is not a mystery either.

International comparisons show that Canada’s donor rates are significantly lower than the United States, Spain, and France. And I can’t imagine there is a Canadian among us who thinks that’s OK.

The good news is the path forward has been discovered, tried, and tested here in Canada. The approach is what’s known as presumed organ consent (or “opt-out” legislation). In short, this means people are presumed to consent to donate their organs after their death unless they “opt out.”

In 2021, Nova Scotia became the first jurisdiction in North America to adopt this practice, and it’s already saving lives. But the policy rationale extends beyond life-saving potential. People who require organ donation depend heavily on our medical system for vital care and support.

Indeed, dialysis costs roughly $100,000 a year per patient in Canada. By comparison, a transplant costs approximately $66,000 with continuing costs of roughly $23,000 per year for monitoring and anti-rejection medications. These are not insignificant savings for an already overburdened sector.

There are, of course, many ethical dilemmas to navigate on this issue and any future plans must guarantee that religious and spiritual convictions are respected. However, the “opt out” policy option is a proven solution. One that saves lives. It is also a solution that matches the incredible compassion and generosity of the Canadian people.

In the late Paul Dewar’s final statement to Canadians, he told us he saw his illness as a gift. I never truly understood his words until I was lying by myself in an ICU bed with an IV in each arm.

But now, I do.

The finest gifts fill you with a sense of awe, humility, renewed purpose. Today, I have a new life because the man I love risked his own. You can’t quantify this feeling of gratitude. Or touch it. Or hold it in your hand.

You can live out your life with humility and renewed purpose and awe. You can give back and tell your story. You can keep the gift alive.

This article first appeared in the Toronto Star on March 5, 2023.

READ MORE >

Canada needs to take Chinese threat seriously

Posted on by

Canadians must understand Chinese actions threaten our democratic institutions, economic independence, national security and, yes, our way of life.

 

This past week, disturbing revelations were made painstakingly clear to Canadians: the People’s Republic of China and its intelligence apparatus threaten our nation’s security and our democracy.

On the evidence, the authoritarian dictatorship in Beijing has interfered in our elections to the benefit of Trudeau’s Liberals and the detriment of Canada’s democratic foundations. While their tactics demonstrate a blatant disrespect for our way of life, they also show our inability to respond effectively.

Having engaged in diplomatic gaslighting, they are now laughing at us from behind the protected walls of the Politburo in Beijing.

It should not take a front-page exposé for Canadians to understand that the actions of the Chinese government threaten our democratic institutions, economic independence, national security and, yes, our way of life.

It is time that we understand our politicians have proven incapable of addressing Chinese state influence. Chinese aren’t just at our gates, they own them. And they’re standing idly by flipping us the bird.

Currently led by an aggressive, ambitious, and paranoid government, China exhibits all the characteristics of a hostile state. The détente that followed Chairman Mao’s rule lulled many Westerners into a false sense of security but under Xi, China is once again under the thumb of an ideological despot with, given the situation with Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, even more capacity to throw his weight around on the world stage.

Just this past week, the Globe and Mail reported news from CSIS that Canadian politicians, government officials, business executives and Chinese Canadians all have been prime targets of Chinese government espionage.

This espionage has deployed blackmail, bribery, and sexual seduction. The range and nature of the tactics used are usually reserved for spy novels, but national security experts now deem China’s espionage infrastructure to go far deeper than even the Soviet’s efforts at the height of the Cold War.

Spying has become a pillar of Chinese statecraft and thuggery, accompanied by denial and obfuscation, a hallmark of its government.

So, what’s the objective of this brazen approach given that it risks further alienating China from the international community — especially when it needs to make friends to increase trade and boost economic activity after its crippling pandemic lockdowns?

Clearly, it is to obtain political, economic, scientific, and military intelligence from Canada so they can stifle Canadian critics and hamper our own economic and political clout.

Just like a domestic abuser, China slaps our face with one hand then wraps an embracing arm around our shoulder with the other to comfort us when it wants something.

Sadly, these revelations were just the most recent development in an enduring crisis.

After all, Canada and the United States are still unpacking the implications of the Chinese spy balloon incident. And there is, of course, more.

Only a few months ago, Western media outlets and governments were seized with news that China was operating covert police stations abroad and that their consulates were developing suspicious relationships with domestic politicians. Who can forget the Chinese state’s kidnapping and arbitrary imprisonment of Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig?

For the past two decades, China has built up an impressive portfolio of assets in Canada’s critical minerals and mining sector, real estate, and oil and gas. Trade with China remains a lucrative proposition — in 2021 alone, two-way trade between our nations totalled $94.7 billion.

It is, after all, the world’s second-largest economy. But, as Canadians, we must ask ourselves, has it been worth it?

All of that said, we cannot allow the actions of the Chinese Communist Party to undermine the integral role the over 1.8 million Chinese Canadians have played, and continue to play, in shaping our country. We are a better country because of their endless contributions.

Canada stands up to bullies, and China’s actions disrespect the soul of our nation. The prime minister’s response has been watery and self-effacing. Economic factors be what they may, now is the time to say enough is enough.

This article first appeared in the Toronto Star on February 26, 2023.

READ MORE >