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DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20261112T120000
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DTSTAMP:20261028T133135Z
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SUMMARY:The Environmental Cost of AI: Data Centres\, Water Consumption\, and Energy Use
DESCRIPTION:Conversations surrounding the need for AI technology\, and the infrastructures needed to support it\, frequently overlook the moral\, ethical\, and environmental risks. Concerns are growing that this push for AI integration in all facets of life\, from educational institutions to national security\, will have deep impacts on water resources needed to sustain this growing sector\, as well as on the communities where these projects will be built. Compounding these concerns is the growing threat of climate change\, and the risk it poses to already stressed ecosystems. \nDiscussing the United Nations University Institute for Water\, Environment\, and Health’s recent report detailing the environmental footprints of energy and water use of AI and related infrastructure\, join us for an engaging debate on what the impact of AI technology and data center construction will have on the environment\, local communities\, and the future of environmental governance. \nAbout the Panelists \nDr. Miriam Aczel is an environmental policy and climate scientist with the California Institute for Energy and Environment and CITRIS Climate at UC Berkeley. She is also an Honorary Research Fellow at Imperial College London’s Centre for Environmental Policy. Her research examines the environmental and social impacts of AI and digital infrastructure\, focusing on water\, energy and environmental justice. \nShe is the lead author of the 2026 United Nations University report\, Environmental Cost of Artificial Intelligence: Carbon\, Water and Land Footprints. Her wider work explores community energy\, public participation and environmental governance. She is also the co-founder and co-director of a STEM educational nonprofit in Cambodia. \nMike Morrice is a long-time social entrepreneur\, community organizer\, and civic leader. Mike has spent over a decade supporting businesses in Waterloo Region – and across the country – to save money and reduce their climate impact. \nIn 2021\, he became the first Green MP elected in Ontario and served as the Member of Parliament for Kitchener Centre until 2025. \nUntil recently\, Mike served as a Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Canada and served as the party’s critic for Housing and Disability Inclusion on Shadow Cabinet. He has already been confirmed as the Green candidate for MP in Kitchener Centre\, has continued to knock on doors\, and has stayed connected with his community following the last election. This includes serving as an Executive in Residence with Capacity Canada\, a role focused on providing mentorship to Boards and leaders of local charities and non-profits in Waterloo Region. \nMike is currently running for the Green Party of Canada’s leadership. \nCraig McLellan is the Founder and CEO of ThinkOn\, a Canadian cloud services provider specializing in secure data management and sovereign cloud infrastructure. With over 25 years of experience in technology innovation across North America\, Craig is widely recognized as a pioneer in cloud computing and a leading advocate for data sovereignty in Canada. \nUnder his leadership\, ThinkOn has been recognized by Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50™ and The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business as one of Canada’s fastest-growing companies\, and was named Broadcom’s Sovereign Cloud Provider for the Americas. \nThroughout his career\, Craig has served on advisory boards for a number of global technology companies\, including Veeam and Hitachi. In each case\, he provides strategic insight informed by a deep understanding of enterprise and public sector needs. \nModerator: Ryan Durante is currently a third-year PhD Candidate at the Balsillie School of International Affairs\, through Wilfrid Laurier University. His research explores the potential for transboundary water conflict in longstanding cooperative basins of North America and Europe in the face of accelerating climate change\, and investigates emergent factors such as GenAI-driven hyperscale data centre construction as flashpoints of potential water conflicts. \nHe is a Graduate Research Fellow at the Global Centre for Climate Change and Transboundary Waters\, a National Science Foundation (NSF)-NSERC Alliance-SSHRC-funded initiative that addresses regional needs for water resource management and supporting community and ecosystem sustainability. He is also a member of Toronto Metropolitan University’s Water Policy Café.
URL:https://balsillieschool.ca/event/the-environmental-cost-of-ai-data-centres-water-consumption-and-energy-use/
LOCATION:Hybrid – Zoom and room 142\, 67 Erb Street West\, Waterloo\, ON\, N2L 6C2\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Environment and Resources Research Cluster
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20261118T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20261118T133000
DTSTAMP:20261028T190813Z
CREATED:20261028T132800Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261028T190813Z
UID:10001981-1795003200-1795008600@balsillieschool.ca
SUMMARY:Building Digital Sovereignty and Security from Chips to AI: Challenges\, Progress and Lessons from Canada's "Build\, Partner\, Buy" Industrial Strategy
DESCRIPTION:Canada’s “Build-Partner-Buy” strategy seeks to strengthen economic and strategic autonomy by substituting US supply chain and ownership control of Canadian industry with domestic and trusted foreign alternatives. Digital sovereignty is the most challenging of all sectors\, but also the most promising\, in cooperation with foreign partners that are aligned on standards and interoperable data. \nThis presentation sets out the context of US-China geopolitical competition\, the sources of US economic nationalism\, outlines Canada’s domestic responses and partnerships with Europe and East Asia\, and explains why Canada-EU partnerships are more aligned\, secure and resilient than either stand-alone or Canada-East Asian collaboration. It briefly reviews Canada’s approach to aerospace sovereignty to derive lessons\, before moving on to the more challenging dossier of digital sovereignty\, covering both hardware (chips\, data centres\, super and quantum computers)\, and software (data\, cloud\, software\, encryption and cybersecurity). It concludes with a pathway forward that reduces Canadian vulnerabilities. \nAbout the Speaker \nShawn Donnelly specializes in global governance and European political economy\, with a focus on how countries\, individually and collectively\, navigate through existential crises. His international work stresses the role of domestic politics in making cooperation between countries difficult\, and the role of power politics in establishing international outcomes when countries disagree on how to respond to crisis. His current work as a Balsillie Scholar asks how Canada\, Europe and East Asia respond individually and collectively to American aggression in trade\, defence and digital services policy.
URL:https://balsillieschool.ca/event/building-digital-sovereignty-and-security-from-chips-to-ai/
LOCATION:Room 1-23\, 67 Erb Street West\, Waterloo\, ON\, N2L 6C2\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Global Political Economy Research Cluster
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20261124T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20261124T160000
DTSTAMP:20261109T185750Z
CREATED:20261015T203939Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261109T185750Z
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SUMMARY:Canada's Trade Secrets: The Legal Framework to Defend Canada's Economic Security and National Prosperity
DESCRIPTION:What a company knows is now one of its most valuable assets\, and one of the easiest to steal. Canada is the only G7 country that does not give businesses a statutory civil remedy when their trade secrets are taken. This one-day conference brings together governments\, defence and security experts\, lawyers\, investors and business leaders to decide how to fix that\, and how fast. \nEconomic security starts in the firm. The know-how\, data and processes that Canadian companies build are what keep the country competitive and sovereign. Foreign competitors\, industrial spies and network intruders know this. When a Canadian company loses a trade secret\, it often has no reliable way to go to court and stop the theft. The firm that holds the secret is Canada’s first line of defence\, and today it is expected to defend itself without the right tools. \nFor founders\, investors and the lawyers who advise them\, the gap has a price. Companies that cannot protect what they know are harder to fund\, harder to value and easier to hollow out. Scale-ups think twice before building in Canada. Investors discount what they cannot defend. Canada promised a civil remedy in the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) but has not yet put it in place\, and with CUSMA under review\, the question is urgent. \nThe conference builds on the research series Divisible by Design: Canada’s Trade Secrets from the Balsillie Legal Advisory Centre. The series shows that Canada can close this gap without changing the Constitution. The provinces would pass a modern\, shared trade secrets law. Ottawa would protect the border and the criminal law. Federal and provincial governments would coordinate the two. The conference puts that plan in front of the people who would build it\, enforce it and rely on it. \nAGENDA \n8:30 am | Registration and networking \n9:00 am | Welcome\nAnn Fitz-Gerald\, Director\, Balsillie School of International Affairs\nDeborah MacLatchy\, President and Vice-Chancellor\, Wilfrid Laurier University \n9:10 am | Why Canada needs a trade secrets law\, and how to build one\nBarry Appleton\, Interim Director\, Balsillie Legal Advisory Centre \n9:45 am | Panel 1 Sovereignty and Security in the Intangibles Economy. What does the gap cost Canadian firms and investors\, and what can an owner’s own remedy do that the state’s tools cannot?\nMariam Gabriel\, Director\, Economic Security\, Department of National Defence\nLaurent Carbonneau\, Council of Canadian Innovators\nDan Ciuriak\, Ciuriak Consulting\nModerator: Matt Malone\, Fellow\, Balsillie School of International Affairs\, and CIGI \n10:45 am | Coffee \n11:00 am | The way forward – the role for government? \n12:00 pm | Lunch \n12:45 pm | International keynote: Lessons from Canada’s partners\nHeather C. Steinmeyer\, Chief Policy Officer\, International Trademark Association (INTA) \n1:15 pm | Economic dimensions and trade leakage. What does the gap cost in trade terms\, and how can border measures reach goods made with stolen secrets?\nDan Ciuriak\, Ciuriak Consulting\nHoratio Morgan\, University of Waterloo \n1:30 pm | Panel 2 Building the Law: A Uniform Act\, a Federal Perimeter\, and Quebec. How should a modern law be written\, and how does it fit with Quebec’s civil law?\nJason Markwell\, Markwell Clarizio LLP\nChristian Clavette\, Université de Moncton\nModerator: Taki Sarantakis\, President of the Canada School of Public Service \n2:15 pm | Coffee \n2:30 pm | Panel 3 The Practitioners’ Perspective. How would a statute change deals\, diligence\, advice to founders\, and the value of a lost asset?\nJim Hinton\, Own Innovation\nNatalie Raffoul\, Brion Raffoul LLP Intellectual Property Law\nModerator: Ann Fitz-Gerald \n3:00 pm | From Discussion to Legislation: Principles and next steps\nBarry Appleton\, with the panel moderators and the Conference Rapporteur \n3:30 pm | Reception (30 minutes) \n  \nWho Should Attend \nPolicy makers and public servants. Defence\, security and intelligence professionals. In-house counsel and IP and corporate lawyers. Innovators\, Investors\, founders and business leaders. Researchers and students. Anyone who wants Canada’s businesses to be able to protect what they create. \nConference Goal \nThis is\, to our knowledge\, the first conference in Canada to bring these groups together on this issue. Its goal is practical: to move from discussion to legislation. The day closes with a discussion of principles and next steps. \nRead Before You Come \nDivisible by Design: Canada’s Trade Secrets (a 3-part series) \nThe three working papers set out the legal gap\, the economic security case and a path to legislation. \n1. Why Canada Needs a Trade Secrets Law\, and How to Build One\n2. Trade Secrets\, the Division of Powers\, and the Limits of Federal Treaty Performance\n3. The Record: Trade Secrets\, Economic Security\, and Canada’s Commitments \nHosts and Supporters \nThis conference is hosted by the Balsillie Legal Advisory Centre at the Balsillie School of International Affairs with the support of: \n \n \n \n \n \n  \nAccess and Contact \nFor questions about registration or accessibility needs\, contact Pegah Jamalof at events@balsillieschool.ca \nParking \nPlease note that during business hours\, parking is available in the Erb Lot across the street from the School. This lot is free for the first two hours\, then you may purchase additional time using the Honk Mobile app. Alternatively\, the School is located on the GRT #5 bus route and near the Uptown Waterloo and Willis Way ION stops. Or\, it is about a 10 min walk from campus. There is no parking available in the CIGI Campus lot.
URL:https://balsillieschool.ca/event/canadas-trade-secrets-the-legal-framework-to-defend-canadas-economic-security-and-national-prosperity/
LOCATION:CIGI Auditorium\, 67 Erb Street West\, Waterloo\, ON\, N2L 6C2\, Canada
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20261125T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20261125T133000
DTSTAMP:20261014T201354Z
CREATED:20261014T200012Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261014T201354Z
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SUMMARY:From Principles to Practice: Ensuring Human Oversight in Military Uses of AI
DESCRIPTION:Reports of actors employing AI and large-language models are emerging from battlefields worldwide\, raising critical concerns around the role of humans in decision-making on the use of force. As militaries increasingly integrate AI into their command structures\, ensuring meaningful human oversight in warfare becomes more pressing. Meanwhile\, global debates on governing military uses of AI\, ongoing at the United Nations and other forums\, continue to deliberate whether new measures are needed to address challenges associated with AI in warfare. A key challenge of those discussions is how the principle of human oversight should be implemented in practice. \nBuilding on these developments\, this panel brings together experts on AI in international security to discuss three key questions. First\, how are AI systems such as large-language models currently used in warfare\, and what are the implications for human judgement in military decision-making? Second\, what are the viable paths forward for governing AI in the military domain\, especially in terms of putting broader principles into practice? And third\, what should be Canada’s role in military AI governance debates\, as it seeks to leverage its middle power status in global affairs? The panel will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience. \nAbout the Panelists \nMorgan Flom is a philosophy graduate student pursuing a two-year master’s degree at the University of Guelph. For his thesis\, he is researching the ethical and epistemological impacts of artificial intelligence in the military and national security arenas. Morgan is entering academia after working in various technology roles in the U.S. national security and sports analytics industries. He leverages his 15+ years of experience working as an intelligence officer\, data analyst\, product owner\, and entrepreneur\, to provide a grounded perspective on the on-going and future effects of data-driven operations and automated algorithmic decision-making. Additionally\, Morgan is a current Digital Policy Hub fellow at CIGI. This endeavor allows him to explore the faults and dangers of technology and data driven workflows in national security from a policy focused perspective and aims to offer rigorous and actionable risk-reduction recommendations to relevant decision makers. \n  \nSara Matthews is Associate Professor in Communication and Cultural Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University\, as well as a Graduate Faculty member in the MA in Communication Studies\, the MA in Cultural Analysis and Social Theory\, and the PhD in Global Governance at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. Sara’s research and teaching are interdisciplinary and consider the dynamics of conflict and social change. Working primarily in the field of research-creation\, her projects explore the relations between visual culture and martial politics as well as how communities craft creative modes of relationality and survival in response to practices of state securitization. Along with co-author Dr. Nathan Rambukkana\, Sara is developing a manuscript titled Unfolding AI: Platforms\, Affects\, and Human–Machine Intimacies (forthcoming 2026). The book tackles the emergent topics of AI and robotics through the framework of Human-Machine Intimacies. \nBranka Marijan is a Senior Researcher at Project Ploughshares\, a Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)\, and a Lecturer in the Master of Global Affairs program at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. Her work sits at the intersection of artificial intelligence\, emerging technologies\, national security\, and international governance. She specializes in the governance of military AI\, autonomous weapons systems\, and responsible innovation\, with a broader research agenda examining how technological change is reshaping security\, defence policy\, and geopolitical competition. She holds a PhD from the Balsillie School of International Affairs specializing in conflict and security. Her commentary and research have appeared in academic journals\, policy publications\, and national media\, where she writes and speaks on AI governance\, defence innovation\, international security\, and the changing character of warfare. \nAnna Nadibaidze is a Balsillie Scholar at the BSIA and a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Center for War Studies\, University of Southern Denmark (SDU). She investigates artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in international security and the global governance of military applications of AI. Anna holds a PhD in political science from SDU. Her research is part of the Independent Research Fund Denmark-funded HuMach project\, as well as the European Research Council-funded AutoNorms and AutoPractices projects. She regularly attends and speaks at key global events on military AI\, such as debates at the United Nations or the Responsible AI in the Military Domain (REAIM) summits. Her work has been published in journals such as Contemporary Security Policy\, Big Data & Society\, and European Journal of International Security.
URL:https://balsillieschool.ca/event/from-principles-to-practice-ensuring-human-oversight-in-military-uses-of-ai/
LOCATION:Hybrid – Zoom and room 142\, 67 Erb Street West\, Waterloo\, ON\, N2L 6C2\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Conflict and Security Research Cluster
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20261127T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20261127T130000
DTSTAMP:20261002T180417Z
CREATED:20261002T180356Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261002T180417Z
UID:10001959-1795780800-1795784400@balsillieschool.ca
SUMMARY:The Canada-EU Strategic Partnership as an Alternative Global Governance Coalition
DESCRIPTION:As universal institutions stall and United States (US) leadership becomes unreliable\, the European Union (EU) and Canada are increasingly presented as building blocks of an alternative coalition capable of sustaining rules-based global governance. This article tests that proposition against five criteria: normative convergence\, aggregate weight\, institutional capacity to act\, willingness to bear costs\, and openness to multilateralisation. The empirical record is more impressive than sceptics allow – the bilateral interim appeal arbitration arrangement of 2019 became the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement\, and the 2025 Security and Defence Partnership matured into Canada’s participation in SAFE within a year. In September 2026 Commission President Ursula von der Leyen went further\, proposing to open the door to Canada becoming the Union’s first “associate member” within an “alliance for the future”. Yet the partnership fails the more demanding tests. It cannot substitute for US capability\, its flagship trade agreement remains unratified after nine years\, and its legitimacy is contested internally and externally. The partnership is best understood not as an alternative to multilateral governance but as an alternative route towards it: a holding operation and a norm laboratory whose principal risk is that its members mistake it for an order. \nAbout the Speaker \nJan Wouters is Full Professor of International Law and International Organizations\, Jean Monnet Chair ad personam and Director of the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies and the Institute for International Law at KU Leuven. He also serves as Administrator of the America Europe Fund. He is Visiting Professor at Paris2 and the College of Europe and Adjunct Professor at Columbia University. He has published widely on international and EU law\, global governance and international organizations. In the Autumn of 2026 he is Konrad Adenauer Visiting Professor at Carleton University. \n  \nThis will be a joint event co-sponsored by University of Waterloo’s Political Science Department and the Global Institutions\, Diplomacy\, and Justice Research Cluster at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. \nRegister
URL:https://balsillieschool.ca/event/the-canada-eu-strategic-partnership-as-an-alternative-global-governance-coalition/
LOCATION:ON
CATEGORIES:Global Institutions, Diplomacy and Justice Research Cluster
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