Reports

This report examines the current state of public policy in Canada in relation to artificial intelligence (AI), including recent calls to regulate or even nationalize AI. Such proposals come in the wake of the February 2026 Tumbler Ridge mass shooting and the perceived failure of OpenAI (owner of ChatGPT) to disclose the shooter’s ChatGPT interactions to police. While framed as necessary for public safety, these proposals risk drawing Canadians’ private AI interactions under state surveillance and control. This report argues that such measures – alongside Bill C-22’s ambition to expand state access to personal data – threaten Charter-protected rights to privacy, freedom of expression, and autonomy by normalizing government access to sensitive personal information without adequate judicial oversight. It concludes that public safety must be pursued through narrowly tailored, warrant-based safeguards that preserve Canadians’ fundamental freedoms.

This report discusses ChatGPT, a product of OpenAI. It is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by OpenAI.