Solomon addresses AI concerns as protester hits stage at conference

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Minister Evan Solomon is re-amplifying the need to advance AI safely after a protester took to the stage during his appearance at the 2026 All In AI and tech conference in Montreal. On Thursday afternoon, Solomon (Toronto Centre, Ont.) was interrupted at the start of a panel by a protester calling for the halt of AI development and adoption. “We are here to tell you what you don't want to hear. People don’t want AI,” the protester shouted to the audience. “We don’t want to die in this arms race. We don’t want you to steal our data.” After the protester was ushered off the stage, Solomon used the opportunity to highlight the growing concerns around AI and its risks. “When we’re talking about building the digital future and AI, there’s a crowd here that is deeply involved in it and sees the innovation and sees the benefit,” he said. “And it’s remarkable to see the breakthroughs. But there’s also a huge world that real concerns about the risks.” “It’s incumbent that we do this together, from the ground up, openly and transparently.” Solomon referenced an investment announced earlier in the conference, which committed Canada and Germany to roughly $300 million in funding for LawZero’s safe-by-design AI project. “We’re the first governments to do this,” he said. “We hope that others join, because we want to build safe, reliable AI.” Solomon also spoke on the government’s new AI literacy initiative and federal principles for AI data centre development, arguing the programs will help facilitate responsible AI development and adoption. Despite insisting Ottawa is leading with “trust, opportunity, and sovereign control,” he also acknowledged that adoption is moving quickly, which causes anxiety for many Canadians. “When you get moments like this, you can skate by these things, when people have real concerns,” he said of the protester. “ we should do what I think Canadians do. Be open about it. Be available to it. And be confident that if we’re going to build this . . . we’re going to do it right.” Solomon further argued his case that the government is advancing responsibly by touting recent legislation aimed at mitigating AI risks: the Protecting Victims Act; the Safe Social Media Act; the Strong and Free Elections Act; and the Protecting Privacy and Consumer Data Act. On Wednesday, OpenAI disclosed it had flagged six incidents of “unexpected or concerning” model behaviour over the past six months. When asked about the incidents by moderator David Skok from The Logic, Solomon said he spoke with a “senior member” from the company on Wednesday, as well as CEO Sam Altman earlier this week. “I just want folks to know, we are in close contact with the hyperscalers on this, the big companies. We are in close contact with our U.S. counterparts,” he said. “We have a different view on regulation.” “They have a view right now that any kind of regulation at a federal level is a constraint on national security and on innovation. We have a different view. We believe that you can build reliably and safely, and we believe there should be guardrails, and we’re setting those up.” Solomon took the stage three times at the conference, which ran Sept. 16-17. mcollins@thewirereport.ca

Solomon addresses AI concerns as protester hits stage at conference

Regulatory |
By Maria Collins
|September 18, 2026

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us

Solomon addresses AI concerns as protester hits stage at conference

Regulatory | By Maria Collins |September 18, 2026

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Bengio says Canada, Germany investment will support LawZero proof of concept

CRTC extends deadline for comments on improving connectivity in Indigenous communities

CRTC commissioner promises support for local programming as regulator awaits federal directive

Related Stories

Bengio says Canada, Germany investment will support LawZero proof of concept

Bell to quadruple AI data centre in Saskatchewan

Doug Ford taps new telecoms lead in cabinet, creates AI adoption portfolio

Telecoms can teach other sectors about AI adoption: expert

Reuse & Permissions

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us

Regulatory |
By Maria Collins
|September 18, 2026