Parliament Debates Generative AI Threats as Canada Faces Policy Vacuum on Synthetic Media and Infrastructure Risks

Ottawa, ON —

Canada’s federal government is facing increasing pressure to act on the rising risks posed by generative artificial intelligence, as Parliament begins early discussions around what some officials are calling a “regulatory void” in the country’s ability to defend against AI-generated disinformation, impersonation, and infrastructure manipulation.

While no legislation has yet been tabled, a heated debate is underway in committee meetings and behind closed doors over whether Canada’s current cybersecurity and communications frameworks are equipped to handle the rapid acceleration of generative tools capable of mimicking voice, identity, and decision-making processes.

“We are staring down a threat vector that doesn’t wait for legislation,” said Liberal MP Ramona Iskander, during a standing committee on Public Safety. “The longer we debate definitions, the more vulnerable our digital ecosystem becomes.”

No National Framework, Patchwork Response

Unlike the European Union or the United States, which have introduced early AI classification and watermarking policies, Canada lacks a national framework to address the use of generative AI across public and private sectors.

Experts warn this gap could prove costly — particularly as critical infrastructure sectors like healthcare, telecom, and utilities increasingly rely on AI-assisted systems for demand forecasting, content generation, and automated decision support.

“We’re already seeing synthetic content enter supply chain communication, emergency response systems, and even public health messaging,” said Dr. Helena Brigg, a senior researcher at the fictional Western Institute for Civic Integrity (WICI). “Without provenance requirements or impersonation safeguards, we are inviting manipulation at scale.”

Key Risks Raised by Lawmakers and Analysts

Several members of Parliament have raised alarms about three specific AI-enabled vulnerabilities in Canada’s digital infrastructure:

• Synthetic Impersonation: No federal law currently prohibits the use of AI to clone the voices or likenesses of public officials, even in sensitive domains like emergency alerts or voter outreach.
• Infrastructure Deception: AI-generated reports or messages can be injected into routine systems — such as delivery scheduling, digital ID verification, or incident notifications — without detection under current monitoring standards.
• Accountability Gaps: In the absence of vendor disclosure laws, generative AI models can be deployed in government-adjacent platforms (e.g. CRM tools, scheduling engines) without review or certification.

“It’s not about the scary fake videos — it’s about the subtle stuff,” said Brigg. “One synthetic document in a utility’s emergency protocol can reroute a response chain. That’s the real risk.”

Partisan Divide and Slow Movement

Support for stronger AI regulation appears to be growing among urban Liberal and NDP MPs, while some Conservative and Bloc Québécois members have expressed concern over overreach, innovation stifling, and jurisdictional confusion, particularly around provincial autonomy in health and education systems.

“We don’t need a national AI panic,” said CPC MP Nolan Rowe (Saskatoon–East). *“We need AI literacy, not blanket regulation.”

Still, internal briefing documents obtained by ODTN News from the Treasury Board Secretariat warn of “growing AI adoption within federal procurement pipelines” and note that several departments are using language models or content generators in pilot workflows without dedicated oversight.

Momentum Building, But Action Remains Elusive

While Public Safety Canada has confirmed it is “closely monitoring” developments around synthetic media and AI risks, no concrete legislative proposal has been announced.

“We’re in the gap between awareness and response,” said WICI’s Brigg. “Unfortunately, that’s exactly where threat actors thrive.”

Covering where tech meets policy and the gaps in between. — Jordan Okeke

ODTN News’ Ayaan Chowdhury contributed to this report.