The Canadian Digital Regulators Forum has completed its first year, reporting progress in artificial intelligence (AI) capacity building and strengthening domestic and international relationships.
The forum, which includes the Competition Bureau, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC), convened earlier this month to review their accomplishments and plan for the upcoming year.
During the meeting, Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell transferred the chairmanship to Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne. Reflecting on the past year, Boswell noted the foundational work achieved through shared learning and partnership opportunities and expressed optimism for continued growth and collaboration in the second year.
“As I assume the role of forum chair, I look forward to building on a solid foundation of collaboration and to delving deeper into areas of critical mutual concern, such as artificial intelligence,” Dufresne said.
The forum highlighted several key accomplishments, including its eight-part speaker series designed to improve AI expertise among employees of all three organizations. This series included presentations from internationally recognized academics and industry experts, significantly bolstering the internal capacity of the forum’s members.
The forum also joined the International Network of Digital Regulation Cooperation to address the global nature and rapid innovation of digital markets through enhanced international collaboration.
Furthermore, the forum engaged in the 2023 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Virtual Series on Policies and Tools for Improving Digital Economy and Competition in Digital Markets, promoting shared learning and cooperation on a global scale.
The forum was established last spring to leverage the collective knowledge and expertise of its members, with the goal of improving their ability to respond to the challenges presented by the rapid evolution and global scale of digital markets.
“I was pleased to chair the forum’s inaugural year, in which we laid a strong foundation through shared learning and partnership opportunities. I am excited to see how we build on them in year two,” Boswell said.