Welcome letter to the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation

(Disponible uniquement en anglais)

May 30, 2025

Via email: evan.solomon@parl.gc.ca 

The Honourable Evan Solomon, P.C. M.P.
Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6

Dear Minister Solomon:

We are writing to extend our congratulations on your election and appointment as Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation. We look forward to working with you. 

The Canadian Bar Association is a national association of 40,000 members, including lawyers, notaries, academics and students across Canada, with a mandate to seek improvements in the law and the administration of justice. The CBA Privacy and Access to Information Law Section represents specialists in privacy law and access to information issues from across Canada. The Intellectual Property Section deals with legal issues around ownership, licensing, transfer and protection of intellectual property and related property rights.

Your appointment as Canada’s first Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation marks a major shift in the government’s approach to AI, with a sweeping mandate that cuts across economic, technological, and public policy domains. We are committed to helping you succeed in that mandate.

The CBA Privacy Law Section welcomes your government’s renewed focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a central pillar of public sector modernization and economic transformation, with strong commitments to investment, skills development, innovation incentives, and improved government efficiency and productivity. The CBA Section previously supported Bill C-27’s intent to regulate AI but urged improvements for clarity, flexibility, and international alignment to ensure Canada remains a competitive and trusted jurisdiction for AI development and deployment.

The Intellectual Property Law Section recognizes that the rise of generative AI in the legal system presents risks, but also opportunities to improve access to justice and reduce costs. Issues around copyright ownership and privacy also demand careful attention in its view. We look forward to working with you on these issues.

We welcome the opportunity to meet with you to explore how the CBA Sections can continue to contribute meaningfully to policy development and reform efforts in the AI realm. Should it be helpful, please feel free to have your staff contact Julie Terrien, Advocacy Lawyer at the CBA, at juliet@cba.org.

Yours truly,

(original letter signed by Julie Terrien for Bill Abbott and Andrew Shaughnessy)