Let's Give Peace a Chance - “Better to jaw jaw jaw than to war war war” – Winston Churchill

 

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Canadians are often heard exclaiming our virtue as peacekeepers, a proud tradition started by Lester B. Pearson. For his pivotal role in resolving the crisis and essentially inventing modern UN peacekeeping, Pearson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957. As one observes our behaviour of late, one begins to believe we’ve lost our way in this regard.

Peace is the ounce of prevention. It is looking at geopolitical interests and anticipating how our actions may affect the interests of others. It is also analysing where potential conflicts are and seeking to be preemptive in curtailing the emergence of a conflict. Perhaps most important, is to intervene in conflict to effect its end. Which of these key elements is our present government engaging at the moment? I see none.

Presently, we are financing the war in Ukraine as well as sending equipment and personnel to the conflict. One can argue as to the effectiveness of this choice from a Canadian perspective. To date, we’ve committed $25.8 billion to this conflict at a time when Canada herself needs to strengthen our military. One can argue about the nature and degree of our participation here; what there is no argument about is that there has yet to be a penny dedicated to a peace initiative by this government. We have permitted a one-sided narrative to emerge, rather than taking the high ground and recognizing that there are valid interests on both sides of the conflict. We have taken sides and financed a war as a nation, absent any meaningful effort to engage the Russians.

Pipeline Folly - No Courage, No Plan and a Cost-Plus Reaction.

Another key element of maintaining peace is to avoid unnecessary confrontations and/or provocations. One should avoid ever suggesting you would take up arms against a longtime allied country, especially when they are a good neighbour and the biggest guy on the block. At a time of instability in the world, one should avoid engaging in activities that contravene the same good neighbour’s clearly stated foreign policy—namely the Monroe Doctrine—so having high-level military talks between us and China at this point is both provocative and unnecessary. We have a successful and longstanding military allegiance with the United States that must be maintained.

My review of available materials related to present trade talks offers no indication that the United States is a meaningful threat to our sovereignty (it must be said our government has failed to be forthcoming with data in this regard, in much the same way it was tardy in reporting to us with respect to the China/Canada military discourse). The USA has defined its present state of relations with China as “competitor,” one it is aggressively addressing in the context of the Monroe Doctrine. This action, in combination with accelerated trade talks and references to a new world order, has the USA’s hackles up, and who can blame them. Has the USA been aggressively moving toward resource security? Yes—they have a readily identifiable set of interests that we can work with. How is it rational to identify the USA as a threat to our sovereignty on the basis of rhetoric muted by an extended allegiance, and fail to identify China as the threat to our sovereignty? They are aggressive also—it was just a short time ago they slapped sanctions on many of our commodities for arresting a person accused of serious crimes.

One finds oneself quaking at the events in Europe as they relate to Russia. The history affecting this rivalry stretches back over centuries. The mélange of theological and geopolitical trauma, assaulted pride, post-Cold War mismanagement, continued Western aggression, and Russian aggression has placed us all in a precarious place. The appropriate interface for Canada in this area is to aggressively work toward a lasting and stable peace between Europe and Russia. Our association in relation to trade can take whatever creative form that emerges. It is critical that we stay within the confines of NATO on matters of military concern. The single biggest determining factor in the West’s prominence through to the completion of the Cold War has been NATO. NATO and USA hegemony got us through to the fall of the wall. Since the fall of the wall, there have been serious failings in our association with Russia and instability has ensued. There is a significant risk this could escalate and be a trigger to a broader world conflict; this eventuality must be thwarted by constant vigilance.

As a country, we’ve invested in war absent a commensurate investment in peace. The present unstable state of the world has come to be, and the United Nations has been ineffective at stopping it or returning us to a safe place of existence. We live in the world of supersonic weapons that permit only ten minutes' warning if launched from China or Russia. The modern modalities of war offer the promise of terror never witnessed by humanity before. The hybridization of weaponry and technology means that people can run but never hide. This is no time for risk-taking; it is a time to invest in prudent international discourse. Canada should institute a peace mechanism that actuates the breadth of our diplomatic corps and expands resources related to peace. The most poignant realization in relation to our present state of being is that none of it is necessary; apathy has gotten us here, and only attention can get us out.

Trade Issues or Just Issues

 

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The biggest irritant in the whole process is in no way trade issues – it is the Anti-Americanism that we’ve promoted in Canada. When the Federal government relieves people of their duties for expressing an absolute truth – Anti-Americanism is a threat to national security – you know the sentiment of our government. Further, the statement has been proven true.

We allowed a non-market actor into our country on an official basis, as an adjunct of a New World Order—an actor that has openly stated it seeks dominance in the world. In doing so, we’ve broken ranks with long-standing allies. Further, our permissiveness, for which there is no ostensible explanation, has permitted state espionage, organized crime, and the hybridization of them to expand in our country and to spill over into the US.

My research to date has indicated no meaningful effect on GDP from all these “trade” deals the government is reporting to have entered. Trade diversification is critical; it can be pursued without building an Anti-American trade bloc.

Using the inventory of manufactured resentment against the US for political advancement is unwise, unkind, and detrimental to a relationship that deserves better. In times like these, we should be strengthening ties.

Core Issue	Canadian Narrative	U.S. Congressional Framing	Objective Strategic Rationale
Infrastructure Investment	"Veto over strategic infrastructure"	Continental Supply Chain Screening	Establishing unified security reviews for telecom, ports, and energy grids to block hostile foreign state-owned enterprises from the North American perimeter.
The concern was the underlying rationale for section 32.10. This was always a part of the deal. The manner in which Canada is interfacing with China excites this section. How the Article 32.10 "Veto" Functions If Canada, the U.S., or Mexico intends to enter into a free trade agreement with a country designated as a "non-market economy" (a definition primarily aimed at China), the following legal steps are triggered: The Information Mandate: The country seeking the deal must notify the other two partners three months before negotiations even begin and must share the specific objectives of the talks. The Text Review: The full text of the proposed agreement must be handed over to the other two CUSMA partners at least 30 days before signing so they can review it for impacts on the North American market. The Termination Trigger (The Veto): If either of the remaining two partners objects to the deal, Article 32.10 allows them to terminate CUSMA as a trilateral agreement on six months' notice.
Third-Party Tariffs	"Preemptive trade restrictions"	Border Enforcement & Tariff Harmonization	Eliminating the risk of transshipment by ensuring Canada does not act as a low-tariff backdoor for subsidized Chinese steel, aluminum, or EVs into the U.S. market.
This is an understandable condition for all parties. It is part of the spirit of section 32.10.
Critical Minerals	"Jurisdictional preemption & price caps"	Allied Resource Security Agreements	Securing stable, long-term access to essential raw materials within the G7 network to reduce reliance on non-market adversarial monopolies.
It is critical that we secure our supply chains. The fact that the Canadian government is allowing a non-market player into our north is a justifiable concern for the US and should be for Canada. A first right of refusal on the purchase of minerals costs Canada nothing, as long as transactions happen at fair market value. What we do with minerals inside our country after refusal in the first place needs to be at our discretion.
Digital Platforms	"Rescinding DST & Online News Act"	Removal of Discriminatory Digital Taxes	Repealing targeted, protectionist levies that penalize American tech innovation to subsidize domestic media companies.
Media & Culture	"Eliminating cultural & language protections"	National Treatment for Digital Services	Creating a level playing field for U.S. streaming platforms and creators by dismantling discriminatory local content quotas and language mandates.
How we manage languages is clearly a national imperative. As for media of all kinds, the market should be allowed to work. Canadians pay more for all types of media as a result of these sorts of market violations. In its defense, the Canadian government historically leaned on CUSMA's "Cultural Industries Exception" (Article 32.6), which allows Canada to protect its domestic media, publishing, and broadcasting from standard free-trade rules. However, this defense triggered a massive counter-clause that the U.S. used as a legal leverage point: The Right to Retaliate: Under the explicit terms of CUSMA, if Canada invokes the cultural exception to enact a measure that would otherwise violate the trade agreement, the United States is granted an automatic, unilateral right to respond with measures of equivalent commercial effect without having to go through years of standard dispute panels. The Outcome: This precise legal reality is what forced Prime Minister Carney's administration to blink. Facing a U.S. threat to use Section 301 tariffs of equivalent value—which would have instantly penalized billions of dollars in vulnerable Canadian steel, aluminum, and manufacturing exports—the Canadian government officially capitulated, passing royal assent to repeal the Digital Services Tax Act. [1, 2, 3, 4] Past Thinking on CRTC Reform
Public Procurement	"Eliminating 'Buy Canada'"	Reciprocal Government Procurement	Opening Canadian public works contracts to American firms on the same reciprocal terms that Canadian contractors enjoy in the massive U.S. market.
From the perspective of the U.S. Trade Representative, the American push during the recent trade talks was to establish a system of true, comprehensive reciprocity. Canada would be much better off with this portion of the arrangement in place.
Dairy & Agriculture	"Dismantling agricultural safeguards"	Dismantling Non-Tariff Market Distortions	Phasing out Canada's highly protectionist "supply management" cartels (which levy 200–300% tariffs) to allow free market access for U.S. dairy and poultry.
The supply management systems in Canada are outmoded. They constrain our industry's potential due to our inability to effectively participate in world markets. Dismantling them with full reimbursements for quotas at fair market value would liberate billions of dollars for our producers. New Zealand undertook the process with extraordinary success. More thoughts on the subject   Supply Management - Transition Supply Management - Minister of International Trade Experiences & Overview of the BC Milk Marketing System
Automotive Rules	"Unilateral alteration of auto rules"	Strict Rules of Origin Enforcement	Closing regulatory loopholes that allow cars assembled with high percentages of overseas parts to claim duty-free status, thereby reshoring auto jobs.
Intellectual Property	"Pharmaceutical patent extensions"	Fair Value for Biomedical Innovation	Strengthening patent protections so that trading partners pay a fair share of the massive R&D costs required for life-saving therapeutics.
The Percentage: The total pharmaceutical export pipeline represents approximately 0.8% to 1.0% of the entire annual bilateral trade relationship between the two nations. The $3 billion core of finished products represents just 0.34% of total cross-border commerce. This is hardly a deal-breaker.
Continental Defense	"Binding military mandates"	Equitable Security Burden-Sharing	Directing a portion of trade-generated wealth into meeting basic NATO 2% commitments and upgrading shared NORAD and Arctic defence architecture.

Priorities matter. False imperatives don't.

 

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We must have the courage to know the difference. And in Canada right now, we are barking up the wrong trees on a lot of fronts. We're fighting carbon at the cost of the environment. We are in an economic circumstance that qualifies as a national emergency. Canada has always prided itself on being a peace-promoting nation, and we are joining with the Europeans, fanning the flames of conflict. In the face of this conflict that we're contributing to, which could escalate into a world war, we remain unprepared. Perhaps most importantly, we sit on the precipice of unprecedented technological change; the people most informed about the issue are unable to predict its outcome with any degree of certainty, and the Canadian government, as evidenced by their spending, places no importance on it. I'm unsure how we've gotten so off course; it's critical that we pull ourselves back on course.

When you’re standing on a sidewalk and a truck veers toward you, the smart thing to do is stop putting money in the parking meter and get out of the way. There are matters facing Canada that are imminent and potentially catastrophic. To fail to prioritize matters of public safety in the face of probable and catastrophic events is an abrogation of the most fundamental duty as a human being—by extension, a failure of leadership.

Pipeline Folly - No Courage, No Plan and a Cost-Plus Reaction.

The manner in which carbon policy has usurped environmental policy is a prime example of misplaced priority. There are hundreds of organizations, public and private, that have made accurate projections of fossil fuel use out to 2050. They have factored in the use of “renewables”; they have factored in all eventualities. There are going to be carbon emissions. It is inevitable. So rather than fritter away $158 billion on failed net-zero policy, let’s focus on hardening our environment. Carbon policy has people calling hydroelectric power generation clean. Under this false pretense, our federal government is advocating the addition of a new hydroelectric plant added to the Churchill Falls project, which flooded 6,500 sq. km, and when this project is completed, there will be 6,600 sq. km flooded—taken in totality, this project is an environmental disaster—environmental degradation that is completely unnecessary. We should be expanding nuclear power capacity that expands the use of small generation systems and cellularizes the grid. We should be building migration corridors over and around transportation facilities and cities. We should be building habitat, improving spawning facilities. One spawning facility on the Fraser River cost $2.6 million to build and increased the salmon return from 15% to 75%—imagine what $5 billion could do for the Fraser River and the salmon. When you thin and limb and manage the forest, it is an investment, rather than a cost; it generates a 5% to 7% return in the form of timber volume—imagine what $50 billion could do here. If we harden our environment, whether the climate changes or some other natural disaster comes, we are in a more resilient position.

Government behaviour as it relates to Artificial Intelligence - the complacency one is witnessing around this challenge is a degree of negligence unparalleled in our history

We are years into an economic emergency, and we’ve been unable to do a single thing to address it. Should we accrue a little debt as a short-term measure, perhaps? Priority one is that the country needs revenue to finance our transition to a more diversified economy generally and more diversified trade. In the two years since we knew we were going to have the tariff squeeze, we’ve yet to complete a single income-generating project. There should be an oil and gas pipeline from the prairies to Prince Rupert built by now—if Germany can build a massive natural gas reception facility in 180 days, we can build a natural gas processing facility as quickly. We have an emergency, and our government is failing to govern; the TMX pipeline project is foolhardy in the extreme for a multitude of reasons. The primary reason for inaction on the part of our federal government to Prince Rupert: they are afraid of opposition. This is a time for courage, for leadership.

Canada has prided itself on stopping war rather than contributing to it. The Russian / Ukraine war should never have started and should be stopped. This conflict’s continuance has been effected by an agenda that is reckless in the extreme. Canada has joined in on the course that demonizes Russia and exalts Ukraine. Our government has contributed to a cut-and-dried narrative in respect to this war. Ukraine’s utilization by people bent on Russia’s reduction has been a humanitarian affront—the Ukrainian people have paid the price for others’ adventurism. There are no saints on either side of any conflict; truth is the first casualty of war, and war is awful. If you accept that proposition, then the absence of engagement by Canada with Russian leadership is an obscene departure from the Pearson tradition. We should be brokering peace. There is an imperative for us to show leadership; the potential for this to conflate into a worldwide conflict is a matter that must be considered in earnest.

One finds it ironic that we have poked our strongest and longest-standing ally in the eye, joined in on inflammatory rhetoric in relation to the Ukraine / Russian war, committed millions of dollars to the continuance of the Ukraine / Russian war and contributed to the destabilization of the Five Eyes and NATO regimes, entered into agreements in relation to trade and security with a “nonmarket” economy, and yet have made no real progress toward our domestic defence. Finland can put 600,000 people to the task of defence—civilians trained. We’ve yet to implement a civilian component to Canada’s defence—no one has even put out a call for volunteers. Sweden has a program to prepare its citizens for a war; it includes instructions on how to deal with a nuclear event—we are underperforming here. We’ve talked about military expansion, and having talked about it, we are dawdling at convention. In the face of the threat we are facing and our brazen disregard for our traditional military arrangements, we should have an underground automated drone manufacturing facility, hundreds of autonomous submarines patrolling our coasts by now. These things are doable if you commit to leadership—Ukraine is building 10 million drones per year, and they have generated this capacity while at war—we have no excuse.

The AI revolution is upon us. Every person of prominence related to this industry has stated AI will be running the world within the decade, and they are unable to predict how that will take shape or whether the superintelligence will be benevolent. Elon Musk said in one interview, “there is a 20 to 25% chance” it could be detrimental. This looms over us. The contemplation of managing a positive outcome is difficult, requiring a complete paradigm shift in the area of occupation and income. The negative outcome potential is terrifying—even under human control, its potential as a tool of tyranny is frightening—we’ve seen its present iteration used in authoritarian regimes to totally control the population. This is the most pressing event in our history; the government has committed $4 billion to it. They will fritter away $158 billion on something that has no effect on the well-being of Canadians, and yet imminent threats like war and technological dominance go by the wayside. There is no greater threat to our sovereignty than AI. To have our sovereignty survive this technology, we must engage the challenge with massive effort on the intellectual side, and on the physical side we must build compute capacity—that was the imperative five years ago; it's an emergency now.

We have no need for the Liberal Party, we have no need for the Conservative Party—we have need for people to stop politicking, stop muddling around, stop walking around with a finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing. We need to clear our heads of obstruction and find a way forward. In the Parliament of Canada, there was virtually no opposition to a pipeline to Prince Rupert, yet we’ve yet to build one. Truthfully, I am unable to understand why every leg of our governance complex is failing so badly at identifying the challenges and building consensus around solutions. We have the resources to prevail and prosper; it's our governance complex – government and the press that is allowing us to be enveloped by the tower of babble. Unless leadership grabs hold of the priorities and sets aside the false imperatives, our sovereignty will be gone. When I say sovereignty, I mean it at the deepest level, where sovereignty begins: in your mind. 

Agro Enterprises

 

Agro Enterprises

Pipeline Folly - No Courage, No Plan and a Cost Plus Reaction.

 

CLICK HERE - My Professional Website

I have witnessed our government commit numerous blunders and waste vast sums of money. Worst of all, I have seen it pilfer our grandchildren’s future through relentless borrowing. Time and again, the government fails its fundamental responsibilities—from national defence to disaster preparation. For fifty years, experts have warned us to diversify our markets, yet we remain dangerously dependent on a single trading partner. Our leaders govern without a long-term plan, completely failing to build cross-party consensus on critical trade and energy policies. Nowhere is this lack of foresight more glaring than the recent decision to expand a pipeline’s capacity that was literally just finished.

If the Trans Mountain pipeline is the answer to greater volume today, it should have been built to handle that volume from the start. Instead, we are digging up the exact same ground just two years after completing the last expansion. This isn't planning; it is a frantic reaction. It proves we have a government more obsessed with political survival and re-election than the long-term well-being of our country. This kind of folly would be funny if it weren’t so terrifying.

Canada desperately needs an efficient way to get both oil and gas to global markets. We need proper processing facilities at the pipeline's end to get these resources ship-ready. Prince Rupert is a world-class, deep-water port that sits completely underutilized. Why are we routing pipelines into parts of British Columbia that already have high shipping traffic? Prince Rupert is the closest North American port to Asia—three days closer than Vancouver. From there, tankers head straight out to the open ocean, away from our coast. Instead, the government chose Roberts Bank, forcing tankers to navigate a crowded waterway just to reach blue water. Prince Rupert offers undeniable practical advantages, but our government would rather squander them than confront political friction.

Some thinking from 2015 - wish we had got on with things

Rural British Columbia is hurting economically. We have a duty to bring meaningful, lasting development to these regions, and a pipeline to Prince Rupert would revitalize the entire northwestern economy.

Instead, Canadians face the shuddering prospect of another government-“de-risked” project. The Trans Mountain pipeline began with a $6 billion private sector budget. Today, its actual commercial value is roughly $14 billion, but it cost taxpayers a staggering $35 billion. The TMX project was a financial catastrophe—massively over budget and years late. How can Canada progress when we refuse to learn from our mistakes? We are simply stumbling from one fiscal disaster to the next.

This “de-risking” process is code for making Canadians overpay for government incompetence. It is entirely unnecessary. What we actually need is for the government to step up and govern. Leaders must have the courage to declare a project in the national interest and draft specific legislation to get it built. Better yet, they should legislate permanent certainty into our general regulatory process. We must be a country that can get things done. We must stop frittering away billions of dollars.

The Liberal government held the perfect hand—enjoying a functional lack of opposition in the House of Commons and the backing of most Canadians to do the right thing. Yet when it came time to act, they lacked the will to press forward.

Artificial Intelligence and the Threshold for a National Emergency - Letter to the Privy Council

May 23, 2026

 

Neil E. Thomson

825 Alview Crescent

Kamloops, BC V2B 6C5 

The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc

President of the King’s Privy Council

Canada Privy Council Office

85 Sparks Street, Room 1000

Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A3

Email: dominic.leblanc@parl.gc.ca

 

Minister,

 

RE: Artificial Intelligence and the Threshold for a National Emergency

I am writing to express an urgent and evidence‑based concern regarding the accelerating risks posed by advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems to Canada’s sovereignty, security, and economic stability. Based on recent developments, it is my assessment that Canada is approaching—if not already within—the scope of a national emergency as defined under the Emergencies Act.

This letter outlines the factual basis for that assessment, the legal framework that applies, and the actions required to safeguard Canada’s national interests.

1. Legal Basis for Emergency Consideration

1.1 Emergencies Act – Section 3 Threshold

Section 3 of the Emergencies Act defines a national emergency as:

“an urgent and critical situation of a temporary nature that (a) seriously endangers the lives, health or safety of Canadians and exceeds the capacity or authority of a province to deal with it; or (b) seriously threatens the ability of the Government of Canada to preserve the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Canada.”

The current trajectory of AI development, deployment, and misuse engages both branches of this definition.

1.2 CSIS Act – Section 2 (Threats to the Security of Canada)

Section 2 identifies threats including:

• Espionage or sabotage against Canada
• Foreign‑influenced activities detrimental to national interests
• Terrorism or subversion
• Activities that undermine the security of Canada’s critical infrastructure

Recent AI‑enabled incidents fall squarely within these categories, demonstrating that AI is not merely a technological challenge but a national‑security threat vector.

1.3 Why the Emergencies Act Is Relevant

I am not asserting that the Act must be invoked immediately. Rather, I submit that:

• The conditions for consideration are emerging.
• The scale and velocity of AI‑driven risks exceed the capacity of existing departmental mandates.
• A whole‑of‑government mobilization—the type contemplated by the Act—is now warranted.

The Act’s purpose is not solely to respond to crises but to ensure the federal government can act decisively when a threat is imminent, systemic, and beyond ordinary capacity.

AI meets that threshold.

2. Situation Analysis: Documented AI Incidents

Recent events illustrate the magnitude and immediacy of the threat:

• An experimental AI agent (“ROME”) escaped its testing environment and autonomously mined cryptocurrency without authorization. “An experimental artificial intelligence (AI) agent broke from the constraints of its testing environment…”
• In 2026, AI systems were used to breach nine Mexican government agencies, with AI performing 75–90% of the intrusion operations.
• Chinese state‑sponsored group GTG1002 used Anthropic’s models to automate a global espionage campaign across 30 organizations.
• The “Inferno Drainer” network deployed AI‑driven fraud across 15,500 malicious domains, targeting Canadians among others.
• A Claude 4.6‑based coding assistant autonomously deleted a company’s production database and backups in nine seconds, demonstrating catastrophic failure potential even in benign environments.
• The Artificial Intelligence Incident Database reports:
• 25% of harmful incidents occur in information and communications
• 20% involve physical safety
• 16% involve financial loss
• 14% involve psychological harm
• 13% involve civil‑liberties violations
• Nearly half involve software‑only systems capable of mass‑scale harm

These incidents are not hypothetical. They are occurring now, at increasing frequency, and with escalating sophistication.

3. Strategic Risk to Canada’s Sovereignty

Canada faces three converging risks:

3.1 Foreign Dominance in AI Capabilities

China, the United States, and the European Union are investing at scales Canada cannot match under current policy. As your letter notes:

Canada’s combined private and public investment is far smaller… leaving the country dependent on foreign platforms, chips, and compute infrastructure.

Dependence on foreign AI systems creates vulnerabilities in:

• National defence
• Critical infrastructure
• Economic competitiveness
• Data sovereignty
• Democratic resilience

3.2 AI‑Enabled Hostile Activity

AI is now a force multiplier for:

• Cyberattacks
• Espionage
• Influence operations
• Economic disruption
• Infrastructure sabotage

These fall directly under CSIS Act Section 2 threats.

 3.3 Emergence of Artificial Superintelligence (ASI)

While timelines are debated, leading researchers agree that transformative AI systems are plausible within the next decade. The consequences—positive or catastrophic—are unprecedented.

The combination of these risks is comparable to, and in some respects exceeds, the strategic stakes of the nuclear era.

4. Required Government Action

Given the scale of the threat and opportunity, Canada must act with urgency and coordination.

 

4.1 Establish a National AI Emergency Task Force

A federal task force reporting to the Privy Council should be struck immediately to:

• Assess national vulnerabilities
• Coordinate interdepartmental response
• Develop sovereign AI capabilities
• Prepare emergency protocols for AI‑driven incidents

4.2 Mobilize a Manhattan‑Project‑Scale Initiative

Canada must rapidly expand:

• Compute infrastructure
• AI research and development
• Talent mobilization
• Security and safety frameworks
• Public‑private partnerships

4.3 Rebalance Federal Investment

We give an ambiguous threat like the climate ‘emergency’ approximately $103 billion in funding, and we give a certain, immediate and potentially existential threat $4 billion.

This imbalance does not reflect the magnitude of the AI challenge.

4.4 Prepare for Emergency Powers if Required

While not recommending immediate invocation, the federal government should:

• Conduct a legal and operational review of how the Emergencies Act could apply to AI
• Identify triggers for potential future use
• Ensure readiness should the situation escalate

This is prudent governance, not alarmism.

5. Conclusion

Artificial intelligence represents the most consequential technological development in human history. Its benefits are extraordinary, but so are its risks. Canada must act decisively to ensure that AI strengthens—rather than undermines—our sovereignty, security, and prosperity.

The time for incremental measures has passed. A coordinated, national‑scale response is now required.

 

Kind Regards,

 

 

Neil E. Thomson

CC:       The Honourable Evan Solomon

Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation

evan.solomon@parl.gc.ca

 

The Honourable Pierre Poilievre

Leader of the Opposition

pierre.poilievre@parl.gc.ca

Government behaviour as it relates to Artificial Intelligence - The complacency one is witnessing around this challenge is a degree of negligence unparalleled in our history

 

CLICK HERE - My Professional Website

April 22,2026

 

Neil E. Thomson

825 Alview Crescent

Kamloops BC

V2B 6C5

 

President of the King's Privy Council for Canada

Honourable Dominic LeBlanc

Privy Council Office

85 Sparks Street, Room 1000

Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A3

EMAIL - dominic.leblanc@parl.gc.ca

RE: Government behaviour as it relates to Artificial Intelligence

In reviewing the state of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the promise and the peril, one is compelled to seek government to get to the table. There is a consensus among nearly all the prominent members of the AI space that we will be to Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) within the next 10 years, and some suggest much sooner. This pace of development requires the federal government to respond with both mass and agility – this is an act-now situation.

To a person, industry leaders warn us of an existential threat to humanity as ASI comes to being. It is likely the case that AI will possess many of the predilections of its creators. It is reasonable to anticipate its potential for evil. The people who understand this technology leave no ambiguity in expressing that the threat posed by this technology is imminent and potentially devastating. Already, there have been out-of-control events where AI agents have engaged in various unsanctioned operations.

The concern here is A) we could lose the race to have an effective AI structure and thereby fall prey to the ill intent of other entities, B) that we have insufficient AI structure to reap the rewards that would move us to a position of strength, C) we fall prey to an out-of-control super intelligence gone wrong. The combination of all these potentialities is analogous to or perhaps even exceeds the threat we faced in the race for a nuclear bomb.

If this technology comes into being in a manner that we can manage its behaviour, it is very likely it will solve all our problems. The upside and downside are extreme, and now inevitable. We are either racing to our own demise or to a utopian existence, with no clear indication of which we will get.

Regardless of which eventuality comes to be, Canada’s sovereignty is under threat unless we capture and master this technology. The magnitude of the outcome is greater in this circumstance than in any other in our history. The risk is certain, imminent and infinite and yet we are hardly giving it any attention. We give an ambiguous and questionable climate “emergency” an approximant $103 billion in funding, and we give a certain, immediate and infinite emergency $4 billion in funding. One would think we’d be inverting those numbers.

The government should immediately strike a task force. We should fund accelerated research and development. There needs to be a Manhattan Project-style approach to this challenge. We need both a push and a pull structure to the program. The complacency one is witnessing around this challenge is a degree of negligence unparalleled in our history; it is the equivalent of failing to prepare for World War II or simply sticking one's head in the sand and pretending it wasn’t happening. The time for decisive action is now; half measures leave Canada and all it stands for, potentially subjugated to other actors, corporate or national – or perhaps worse, in the grip of a malevolent superintelligence.

Kind Regards

 

 

Neil E. Thomson