The Demise Of The Artificial Intelligence And Data Act (AIDA): 5 Key Lessons

On January 5, 2025, the prorogation of the Canadian Parliament effectively terminated all bills pending in the House of Commons – including Bill C-27 and the proposed and controversial Artificial Intelligence and Data Act (AIDA) contained in it. The inclusion of AIDA in Bill C-27, which principally focused on privacy law reform, was seen as a big surprise to many. That AIDA wasn't preceded by any significant consultation with industry or civil society groups was seen as a serious issue by many. But despite AIDA's demise, it's inevitable a future Canadian government will seek to pass legislation regulating artificial intelligence. There are lessons a future government doing so can learn from the, at times heated, debate over AIDA; here are five key ones.