Screenshot of Feb 5, 2026 ETHI meeting transcript: "Luc Thériault (Montcalm, BQ): Thank you, Mr. Chair. Welcome, Minister. It's good to see you after 10 requests to appear before this committee. Earlier, you mentioned the 11,300 submissions you received, which are informing your strategy. Several experts—160, in fact—signed a letter questioning the basis of your consultation. One of the problems is that, because you accepted anonymous responses, experts were able to use AI to flood the consultation with AI-generated responses. The consultation was conducted in record time, prompting the following comment from Jonathan Roberge, a professor at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique: It is frankly problematic to have chosen to process public responses using AI, because certain biases come with that kind of use. Asking AI to produce a report on AI is like a dog chewing its own tail."
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"Luc Thériault:
Then you confirm the concerns raised by experts, who point to potential preconceived notions in your assessment.
A total of 160 academics, lawyers, experts, civil society organizations and human rights organizations issued the following statement regarding your process:
The current consultation process suggests serious disregard for the Canadian public’s known and wide-ranging concerns about the demonstrated risks and harms of technologies currently classified as AI. This impression arises from the contrived urgency imposed by the short timeline for submitting informed views on a topic as complex and consequential as AI; the leading language, predetermined framing, and prioritization of business and economic interests in the associated survey; and the lack of human rights and civil liberties representatives on the AI Strategy Task Force….
How do you respond to that criticism?"
[Narrator: He did not.]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5u2ttfmokebkfnxopd6qlhti/bafkreih6d775tunxmurm3fttzaiv4um7pbvlp3sto5mdossiaasdrsavyu)
Screenshot from same transcript: "Luc Thériault: Then you confirm the concerns raised by experts, who point to potential preconceived notions in your assessment. A total of 160 academics, lawyers, experts, civil society organizations and human rights organizations issued the following statement regarding your process: The current consultation process suggests serious disregard for the Canadian public’s known and wide-ranging concerns about the demonstrated risks and harms of technologies currently classified as AI. This impression arises from the contrived urgency imposed by the short timeline for submitting informed views on a topic as complex and consequential as AI; the leading language, predetermined framing, and prioritization of business and economic interests in the associated survey; and the lack of human rights and civil liberties representatives on the AI Strategy Task Force…. How do you respond to that criticism?" [Narrator: He did not.]
![Screenshot of same transcript:
"Luc Thériault:
I'm sorry, I don't have a lot of time.
How many of those 160 experts who voiced criticism have you actually met with? How many of the 160 experts who signed the letter did you meet?
[English]
[Expand]
Hon. Evan Solomon:
To be candid, I'm not aware of the names of these 160, because I don't know who you're talking about, but we have been engaged in stakeholder relations round tables. We're using the tools we have. I'm meeting people to make sure that this national strategy reflects and protects our values in the best way possible."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5u2ttfmokebkfnxopd6qlhti/bafkreibqkrr2b7mv3wltieqbdzdu2b5n3h5oztiwpupiqw7ptu3d4xpqiq)
Screenshot of same transcript: "Luc Thériault: I'm sorry, I don't have a lot of time. How many of those 160 experts who voiced criticism have you actually met with? How many of the 160 experts who signed the letter did you meet? [English] [Expand] Hon. Evan Solomon: To be candid, I'm not aware of the names of these 160, because I don't know who you're talking about, but we have been engaged in stakeholder relations round tables. We're using the tools we have. I'm meeting people to make sure that this national strategy reflects and protects our values in the best way possible."
WAIT. HOLD UP. Was no one going to tell me that ETHI actually directly questioned Minister Solomon on our open letter protesting his national AI consultation?!?? Ctee member: "How do you respond to that criticism?" Narrator: He did not. #PCAI www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentView...
