Senator Gold: Thank you for your question.

I think “prohibition” is the wrong word, with all respect, senator. I understand your question better than I did before. I apologize if I was not as crisp as I am going to try to be.

There is no definition of “affiliation” in the rules and there need not be. A government can decide how it wants to organize its work in the Senate. It can decide, regardless of the Rules of the Senate — but consistent with the Parliament of Canada Act — how they want to name their leader or representative.

If it turns out that a government decides, as has been stated publicly, that if it forms government it would return to the older system, then it would name a government leader, as you did when Senator Carignan was the government leader here in the Senate and his predecessors before him.

If this government is returned to power, or if I leave this office tomorrow and a new Government Representative in the Senate has to be named, then the government will name someone as they see fit.

I’m not going to enter into my interpretation of what “affiliation” might be. I know what I am, what I do and what I don’t do. I am very confident that under no definition of “affiliation” am I affiliated with the Liberal Party of Canada, and I haven’t been since long before I took this role, but it’s not about me.

This is just, I think, an attempt to create the circumstances where you can be something other than “a government leader affiliated with a political party” and still represent the government in the Senate, as this government has chosen to do.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question.

Colleagues, artificial intelligence has tremendous economic potential; however, as with all technology, it presents important challenges and considerations to make sure that its development and implementation are safe. Canada is a global leader in responsible AI and is supporting an AI ecosystem that supports the responsible use of this important technology.

In response to your question, Senator Loffreda, to that end, I understand that Budget 2024 proposes $3.5 million over two years, starting in 2024-25, to advance Canada’s leadership role with a global partnership on artificial intelligence, securing Canada’s leadership on the global stage when it comes to advancing the responsible development, governance and use of AI technologies internationally.