Nunavut government addresses use of AI and Whatsapp at committee hearings

The Nunavut government says it's working on guidelines for employees about using artificial intelligence. 

The topic came up Friday during hearings of the Standing Committee on Oversight of Government Operations and Public Accounts. The use of unapproved third-party applications, like WhatsApp, was also discussed. 

Mark Witzaney, the government's director of access to information and protection of privacy, says the territory started talking about AI guidelines last December, and that those discussions are going well.

"The issue with AI is that it is evolving quickly and there's a lot we don't know because it's moving so quickly," he said.

Witzaney said the government has concerns about AI, including how it gathers information from the internet, its impact on the environment, and its ability to steal artwork and duplicate it elsewhere for someone else.

He said in light of these concerns and the rapid development of AI, the government can't "commit to a speedy approach."

"We want a comprehensive, correct approach that takes into account Nunavut's unique context," said Witzaney.

That unique context is not accounted for due to Western bias in AI, according to Stephen Mansell, an assistant deputy minister with the Department of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs.

Witzaney said the government is hoping to have the guidelines for its employees finalized by early 2026.

Nunavut's Information and Privacy Commissioner, Graham Steele, said in his latest annual report that "artificial intelligence has burst onto the scene in ways that seem like science fiction". He said during the hearing that because of the rapid advances in AI, "we can be certain that employees of the Government of Nunavut are using artificial intelligence tools right now."

Iqaluit-Manirajak MLA Adam Arreak Lightstone asked Steele to what extent he uses AI. Steele said he doesn't use it at all. 

"I need to make sure that if I'm using it, I understand what it is that the company is getting in return," said Steele, explaining one of his reasons for not using AI.

Steele also said there's no need for him to use AI, as Nunavut is a small jurisdiction in terms of population compared to the other provinces and territories, and that he can do his work without using it. 

Government asked about deterring use of unapproved applications

Concerns were also brought up about employee's use of third-party applications that are not connected to the Nunavut government's servers.

This comes after Steele found that employees at the Department of Education, including the deputy minister, were frequently using the WhatsApp messaging app to conduct official business. One of Steele's recommendations was that senior department employees stop using WhatsApp. 

In his report, Steele said the government did not forbid the use of WhatsApp but he considered it to be "poor administrative practice … for discussions to be held and decisions to be made in an unofficial forum of which there is no easily accessible record." 

Baker Lake MLA Craig Simailak said Friday that people might use an application that they're used to because they want to make sure they're doing their jobs efficiently. But, he acknowledged, they may end up using an application that's not as secure. 

He then asked if the government has measures in place to prevent its employees from using unapproved applications.

Kyle Seeley, the deputy minister of the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Nunavut, said that his department's focus was on managing resources, platforms and applications that had been commissioned and secured for carrying out government business. 

"There are multiple applications out there, some of them very, very effective that we do not sponsor, we do not endorse; they do not pass our security protocols."

Seeley went on to say that the government doesn't have the capacity to monitor the use of third-party applications that employees use for official business. He later clarified that while employees can download third-party applications on government cell phones, the government is "taking additional measures … to restrict additional applications that have not had a rigorous security and/or privacy assessment."