Canada’s AI strategy aims to make health data more accessible. How will it protect privacy?

Source Domain: www.cbc.ca

The federal government plans to invest $100 million to make Canadian health data more accessible to researchers as part of its national AI strategy.
The initiative aims to connect data across Canada to facilitate clinical trials, AI tool testing, and innovation in treatment and diagnosis.
To ensure privacy, the initiative will remove identifying information and secure data in Canadian-owned platforms and data centres.
The government emphasizes the need to balance public benefits and privacy safeguards, with data being kept in secure infrastructure accessible only to approved researchers.
The effort expands the existing Vital platform and addresses concerns about data usage, transparency, and potential algorithm biases.
The funding aims to improve health outcomes and attract global research, positioning Canada to tap into a billion-dollar clinical trial market.
Privacy measures include storing data in Canada, encryption, and rigorous best practices, with key identifiers excluded from accessible datasets.
Federal protections also involve strong cybersecurity and stringent access controls to trusted researchers from Canadian institutions.

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