Josh Tabish

If resilience and security are the goal, the focus should be on encrypting critical workloads, developing talent, and smart procurement / contracts. We need to focusing on building resilience and capacity rather than digital walls.

“Data sovereignty” is also more complex than where servers sit. Canadian firms with global operations, cloud dependencies, or foreign hardware may still face foreign data requests. Location alone doesn’t eliminate cross-border exposure.

That said, sovereign app, data and infrastructure requirements, while well-intentioned, can lead to higher taxpayer costs, longer deployment timelines, and weaker security outcomes. Security and resilience come from strong architecture, governance, and expertise – not simply geography.

There’s are things to like here, especially the focus on investment and building homegrown technical capacity. Attracting capital and retaining skilled talent will be essential to maintaining digital infrastructure in the province.

Le Québec se dote d'une vision forte pour sa souveraineté numérique GATINEAU, QC, le 13 févr. 2026 /CNW/ - Le gouvernement du Québec a présenté aujourd'hui sa vision pour accroître la souveraineté numérique et a annoncé la mise en œuvre d'un premier levier concret pou...

Quebec has released a new digital infrastructure and data strategy focused on:

• Hosting public data in Canada/Quebec
• Building “sovereign” data centres
• Prioritizing Quebec firms
• Open-source adoption
• Strengthening local IT expertise www.quebec.ca/nouvelles/ac...

Shopify revenues rise as company continues AI push - The Logic The e-commerce giant says it is now in ‘pole position’ to take advantage of an anticipated AI-powered shopping boom

Shopify is seeing big growth as it bets on AI-powered, agentic commerce.

If the bots want to compare options and check out for me, I’m not going to fight them! thelogic.co/news/shopify...

Canada’s AI task force is split on how to deal with the tech’s risks - The Logic Industry groups favour a light-touch approach to regulation, while academics want Ottawa to legislate now

But with new privacy (and maybe even AI) rules coming, they face a major test.

If Canada wants to grow its tech sector, new regulations will need to support companies’ ability to scale and compete – without trade partner drama. thelogic.co/news/ai-task...

A Realist’s Guide to Canada’s Digital Sovereignty: - Chamber of Progress The Government of Canada released a new white paper defining digital sovereignty and outlining how the country can protect its data, systems, and IT

Canada's government has taken a pragmatic approach so far, recognizing that tools like encryption and other technical safeguards can mitigate risks associated with relying on foreign cloud providers. progresschamber.org/insights/rea...

What Europe really thinks of Mark Carney’s new world order - The Logic Closer business and trade ties between the EU and Canada are within reach—if both sides can blast through the red tape that has so far kept them apart

European perspectives on digital sovereignty:

1. Define what’s truly critical and make it resilient.
2. Grow your domestic tech sector; build real, competitive alternatives.

Focus on building because regulation alone won't be enough thelogic.co/news/the-big...

EU capitals say deleting US tech is not realistic Europe is dreaming of digital independence but every country runs on American gear.

“In the short to medium term, a full replacement of foreign digital services is neither realistic nor necessary,” a spokesperson for Germany’s digital minister said www.politico.eu/article/eu-c...

Discord faces backlash over age checks after data breach exposed 70,000 IDs Discord to block adult content unless users verify ages with selfies or IDs.

As Canadian policy-makers consider age verification requirements for social media and other platforms, users are right to be sketched out about the privacy risks involved arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...

Listened to @mgeist.bsky.social latest podcast with @lisagiven.bsky.social at lunch today, and it really drives home that social media bans aren’t a silver bullet solution. Highly recommend giving it a listen! 👇

Hear me out: maybe Canadian pension funds should invest in *Canadian* data centre capacity 🤔

Reading the AI consultation submissions, I see calls to reform Canadian pension funds to support national tech priorities.

But what if I told you that Canada’s largest pension fund was investing $14B in *European* data centres – not Canadian ones...
www.cppinvestments.com/newsroom/cpp...

App store age verification won’t keep young people safe Protecting young people from online harms requires smart, targeted legislation that addresses the real risks and holds the right actors accountable.

Back in December, I laid out why app store age verification is the wrong approach in The @hilltimes.com. It doesn’t keep young people safe, it offloads platform responsibility and expands surveillance. I think this still holds up in 2026.
www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/1...

Think about it this way: at a convenience store, you only show ID if you try to buy cigarettes, not candy.
So why should every app require age verification?
You need to prove your age to use Excel? Solitaire?

Meta pushes for app stores — not Facebook and Instagram — to verify users' ages As the Liberals draft another attempt at online harms legislation, Meta Canada's head of public policy Rachel Curran argues it wouldn't be 'privacy protective' to require individual platforms to verif...

Meta continues to push app store age verification in Canada. But let's be clear: this would shift responsibility away from platforms like Instagram onto app stores, while forcing widespread age ID checks that create a massive privacy invasion for young people: www.cbc.ca/player/play/...

I find myself wondering if they're the right fit (in terms of mandate) given that law enforcement wants these powers too (in addition to national security folks).

You can find the 'what we heard' summary from ISED's AI consultation here: ised-isde.canada.ca/site/ised/en...

At #SRSR committee, Minister @evansolomon.bsky.social said AI "...[helped] us summarize and work with the 11,000 submissions. That could’ve taken between 8 and 9 months but we did it in about 8 days. That’s the kind of savings and efficiencies people would like to see" re: government use of AI 👏

Professor @mgeist.bsky.social nails it: the only credible, rights-respecting path forward starts with real oversight.

Hard to imagine how Lawful Access Lite™ could reflect any broader consensus among the parties and experts the government claims to be consulting. 🤔

Ottawa set to reduce warrantless powers for law enforcement in refined border-security bill Public Safety Minister working on tightening proposed provisions to get support for bill

Lawful access is back on the agenda this session. Minister Gary Anandasangaree's office signals warrantless access will remain in C-2 – just narrower. That does little to ease concerns about sweeping government surveillance powers. www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...

Another update: The AI Task Force submission are available here: open.canada.ca/data/en/data...

Update: It looks like they posted a summary of both the task force and public input here: ised-isde.canada.ca/site/ised/en...

Later on: "We will very shortly have a piece of legislation on privacy and... we will be launching and introducing our AI national strategy this quarter."

Watching Minister @evansolomon.bsky.social at #SRSR say, re: the AI Strategy Taskforce: “We have now published the reports of our 28 task force members.”

Has anyone seen where these are all posted? I can’t find them.

Waabi launching robotaxi fleet with Uber after raising US$750-million Toronto company’s deal with Uber marks its first expansion outside of autonomous trucking

Pretty inspiring to see a Canadian tech startup Waabi tapped to deploy 25,000 self-driving vehicles for Uber www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

The piece also suggests the government is considering:

- Expanded civil liability tied to privacy and AI
- Restrictions on collecting or using children’s data
- A right to deletion of personal data

Ottawa planning measures to protect young and vulnerable from AI chatbots, minister says Identity Minister Marc Miller says online safety bill would aim to address ‘potential toxicity’

I worry that taking too broad an approach here could limit access to new educational tools. When responsibly deployed, chatbots could offer kids a lot of support for learning. www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...