Citizen Toolkit

Canada's federal Parliament has two chambers: the elected House of Commons and the appointed Senate. A bill — a proposed law — travels through both before becoming law. Here's the process:

1. Introduction (First Reading): A minister or MP introduces the bill. No debate — just a formal presentation of what it does.
2. Second Reading: The full chamber debates the bill's core principles. If it passes a vote, it moves to committee.
3. Committee study: A smaller parliamentary committee studies the bill in depth, holds hearings, takes testimony from experts and affected Canadians, and may propose amendments. This is the most substantive stage — and the one where citizen input has the most impact.
4. Report stage and Third Reading: The chamber debates and votes on the amended bill.
5. The Senate: The process repeats in the appointed Senate, which can further amend or delay the bill.
6. Royal Assent: The Governor General formally approves the bill. It is now law — though some provisions may require additional regulations before they take effect.

Not all AI-related decisions go through this process. Regulations — rules made under authority granted by existing laws — require far less parliamentary scrutiny. Many of the most consequential AI decisions in Canada are made through regulations, procurement policies, and government directives rather than legislation. The federal Treasury Board's Directive on Automated Decision-Making, for example, governs how federal agencies can use AI to make decisions about Canadians — and it was not a law passed by Parliament.

Where federal AI policy is actually made

House of Commons committees:

• Standing Committee on Industry and Technology (INDU) — the main committee studying AI legislation. Has studied Bill C-27 and Canadian AI competitiveness. This is the highest-impact committee for anyone interested in AI regulation.
• Standing Committee on Science and Research — relevant for AI research policy and the national AI institutes.
• Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics — relevant for AI and privacy, algorithmic decision-making, and data governance.

Federal government (executive branch):

• Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) — the ministry responsible for AI policy, legislation, and the national AI strategy. The Minister of Innovation is the key portfolio for AI.
• Treasury Board Secretariat — sets rules for AI use within the federal government itself, including the Directive on Automated Decision-Making.
• Global Affairs Canada — represents Canada at international AI governance forums, including the OECD, G7, G20, and Bletchley/Seoul/Paris AI Safety Summits.

Provincial jurisdiction: Education, health care, labour, consumer protection, and policing all fall largely under provincial jurisdiction — and these are exactly the areas where AI is most rapidly being deployed. Watch your provincial legislature's relevant committee and ministry. Quebec's Commission d'accès à l'information is also a significant regulatory body for AI accountability under Law 25.

Go to ourcommons.ca and enter your postal code. Your MP's profile page lists:

• Their Ottawa office address and phone number
• Their constituency office address and phone number
• Their email address (for Ottawa correspondence)
• Their committee memberships — useful for knowing if they sit on INDU or other relevant committees

If your MP sits on the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology (INDU), that is especially worth knowing — committee members are the ones who will study and potentially amend AI legislation.

A letter or email to your MP is more effective than a petition signature and far more effective than a social media post. Parliamentary offices count correspondence. Committee members receive correspondence from constituents as signal about what issues their voters care about. Here is what works.

Template letter

Adapt this for your situation. The most important changes: personalize the bracketed sections, and make sure your ask is specific.

Note: Mail sent to the House of Commons from within Canada does not require a stamp — the postage is covered.

The federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry holds the AI policy portfolio. Ministers receive considerably more correspondence than constituency MPs. To be effective, be especially concise and direct.

Contact information

• Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
  House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
  (Check ised-isde.canada.ca for the current minister's name — cabinet portfolios change with elections and shuffles)
• Prime Minister's Office
  Office of the Prime Minister
  80 Wellington Street
  Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A2
  Web form: pm.gc.ca/en/connect

Tips for ministerial correspondence

• Identify yourself and your expertise or stake in the issue immediately
• One ask, clearly stated, in the first paragraph
• If you have specific technical knowledge (as a researcher, healthcare professional, developer), say so — the minister's staff route substantive submissions to policy advisors
• Government departments also hold formal public consultations — these are the highest-impact way to submit detailed technical evidence

Provincial governments have jurisdiction over health care, education, labour standards, and consumer protection — areas where AI is already being deployed in ways that affect Canadians directly. Provincial engagement matters.

Find your provincial representative

• Quebec (MNA): assnat.qc.ca — Find your MNA
• Ontario (MPP): ola.org — Find your MPP
• British Columbia (MLA): leg.bc.ca — Find your MLA
• Alberta (MLA): assembly.ab.ca — Find your MLA
• Other provinces: Search "[Province] legislative assembly find my member"

Key provincial AI contacts

Quebec has the most developed provincial AI accountability framework:

• Commission d'accès à l'information (CAI) — enforces Law 25's algorithmic accountability provisions: cai.gouv.qc.ca
• Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie

Ontario:

• Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
• Ministry of Labour (for AI in employment, including the Working for Workers Act)

British Columbia:

• Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation
• Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC

The approach is the same as for federal correspondence: be specific about the issue, state your connection to it, and make one clear ask.

Parliamentary committees and government departments actively seek expert testimony. If you work in AI research, machine learning engineering, cybersecurity, health informatics, labour economics, law, or any other field that intersects with AI governance, you can offer your expertise directly.

Parliamentary committee appearances

Committees invite witnesses to testify during the study of a bill or a policy matter. Witnesses present for a few minutes and then answer questions from committee members. This is one of the most direct ways to influence legislation.

To express interest in appearing before a committee:

1. Find the relevant committee at parl.ca
2. Navigate to the committee's page and find the clerk's contact information
3. Send a brief letter or email: who you are, your relevant expertise, what the committee is studying, and what you could offer
4. The clerk will advise whether the committee is accepting witnesses and how to proceed

Alternatively, committees accept written briefs — detailed submissions that enter the public record even without a live appearance. Briefs can be more thorough than oral testimony and are worth submitting even if the committee cannot accommodate every witness.

Government consultations and regulatory proceedings

Federal and provincial ministries run formal public consultations when developing regulations or major policies. These are published in the Canada Gazette and on ministry websites. Submissions are read by officials, published, and cited in regulatory impact assessments. A well-documented, technically substantive submission from an expert carries real weight.

Provincial privacy regulators (the CAI in Quebec, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada federally, and provincial equivalents) also run consultations and accept complaints about AI-enabled privacy violations. Formal complaints to regulators can trigger investigations.

Civil society and coalition-building

Individual experts and concerned citizens are more effective in coalition. Organizations working on AI policy in Canada include:

• Citizen Lab (University of Toronto) — research on technology, security, and human rights
• CIPPIC (Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic) — legal advocacy on digital rights
• AlgorithmWatch — international, but covers Canadian algorithmic accountability
• Policy Options (IRPP) — publishes accessible policy analysis on AI governance

If you have domain expertise and want to contribute to the public debate, writing a policy brief or op-ed for Policy Options, The Logic, or a major newspaper can reach legislators, their staff, and other advocates simultaneously.