Provincial, federal governments leaning on AI to cut red tape

OTTAWA — The federal government and several provincial governments are turning to artificial intelligence to analyze laws and search for outdated regulations as they try to cut back on red tape.

Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali and provincial and territorial ministers responsible for red tape reduction met in Toronto today in a bid to cut outdated and overly complicated regulations to reduce costs and improve productivity.

Mohammad Kamal, a spokesperson for Ali’s office, says several provinces are exploring how to use AI to streamline how applications and approvals are handled, review internal processes and improve service delivery.

Kamal says the federal government is using a platform called BizPal, which shows permit and licensing requirements across jurisdictions and uses AI to convert complex legal and regulatory language into plain language summaries.