MPP Chris Glover tables motion to protect jobs by making Ontario a global leader in AI safety research

QUEEN’S PARK — Ontario NDP Shadow Minister for Technology Chris Glover (Spadina—Fort York) will table a motion calling on the Ford government to create a grant program for artificial intelligence (AI) governance and safety research at Ontario’s public colleges and universities, amid growing concern that 1.1 million Canadian public sector jobs could be threatened without strong regulation and government oversight.

“The disruption that AI inflicts on our workforce is already real and escalating,” said Glover. “If we don’t act now, we risk more people joining the 800,000 Ontarians that are already unemployed, because nothing was done to plan for its impact on our labour force.”

“What will happen to jobs when AI and robotics can perform our work better than us? How will we control systems that can outsmart us? What will democracy look like when every decision we make could be better made by AI,” said Wyatt Tesari, Founder and Executive Director of Artificial Intelligence Governance and Safety Canada (AIGS). “We don't know. That's why we urgently need more research to find out, and to develop the policies needed to govern AI in the public interest.”

“Cybercrimes and disinformation campaigns are being supercharged by AI. We need clear guardrails and strong public oversight before it has devastating effects on our economy and society,” added Glover. “An AI research grant will carve out a field in which Ontario can once again be a global leader, while protecting and creating jobs, which should be this government’s top priority given Ford’s ongoing jobs disaster.”

The motion will be tabled in the Ontario Legislature next week.