OTTAWA — Artificial intelligence will impact the Canadian workforce, a parliamentary committee recently heard, and MPs are suggesting ways the federal government can better prepare.
Witnesses described the “rapid pace” of implementing AI technology, according to a new report.
“While technological changes can be disruptive, they are likely to bring benefits, particularly in terms of productivity and growth,” a summary of the hearings said.
But the experts also “discussed the importance of addressing the concerns of workers, businesses and the labor market in general before it is too late.”
House of Commons human resources committee says worker protection and privacy was identified as a key concern during MPs’ study of how AI could affect the workforce Canadian.
Its report recommends that the government evaluate whether federal labor law has the capacity to protect workers’ rights as AI technology is adopted.
It also calls on the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada to examine how AI affects workers’ privacy and propose regulatory fixes to ensure Canadians are protected.
The report said MPs heard concerns about how AI technology can be used to monitor workers.
Artificial intelligence has boosted the use of employee surveillance technology, and experts have already warned that Canadian laws are not keeping up.
The report also says Employment and Social Development Canada should work to support the ethical adoption of AI and invest in skills training to ensure the Canadian workforce can better adapt to new technologies.
“Witnesses emphasized that employers should be required to train or retrain employees affected by AI adoption or offer them the opportunity to move into other positions,” the report said.
In the latest federal budget, the Liberal government set aside $50 million for reskilling workers affected by AI, although experts say much more funding will be needed given the scale of the changes that technology is called to trigger.
The committee also highlights the need for better data, saying Statistics Canada should develop a methodology to monitor the impact of AI on the labor market.
The report says the government should “undertake additional data collection to monitor the current and unavoidable future impacts of AI technologies on the Canadian workforce.”
It says the effects of AI on the world of work are not yet clear, but “many agree that there will be significant changes in the way much of the workforce work carries out its daily tasks.
In June 2023, a briefing note to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland warned that the impact of generative AI “will be felt across all sectors and that approximately 40% of all working hours could be affected.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 13, 2024.
Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press
