Montreal has already positioned itself as a global artificial intelligence hub. Now the push is on to make it the place where the ethical framework for its responsible development is shaped. The use of AI is growing rapidly and the technology is becoming more sophisticated. As it is adopted into more and more areas, the risk that AI could cause harm is growing.

Despite record record low unemployment, wage growth remains sluggish in Quebec, experts say. And, according to one metric, the earnings gap between Quebec and Ontario started to grow again in 2018. “There is growth, but not as much as expected,” said Mia Homsy, the director of the Institut du Québec, a public policy think tank created through a partnership between HEC Montréal and the Conference Board of Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau insisted in Montreal on Wednesday evening that neither he, nor any members of his staff, put undue pressure on former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould in an effort to encourage her to end the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin. “I and my staff always acted appropriately and professionally,” he said.

Proceedings against former SNC-Lavalin vice-president Stéphane Roy were suspended on Tuesday because it has taken too long to bring him to trial. Roy was charged in 2014 with fraud, bribing a foreign official and violating United Nations sanctions against Libya in connection with SNC-Lavalin’s operations in that country.

The provincial government would be open to investing more in Bombardier, Quebec’s economy minister said following a meeting with the company’s president and CEO, Alain Bellemare, on Friday morning. “There’s no requirement for us to invest,” Pierre Fitzgibbon said Friday morning, but he said he made it clear to Bellemare “that would there be a requirement, would there be an opportunity, we would be open for business.”.

For more than a decade, he’s worked in the illegal cannabis industry. Now, with the legalization of cannabis looming, Marc, who spoke to the Montreal Gazette on the condition that he not be identified, wants to become part of the new legal market. The only legal seller of recreational cannabis in Quebec will be a government-owned monopoly that plans to source cannabis from a handful of big growers already operating within the legal medical cannabis system.

Few countries are as technologically isolated as Cuba. Home Internet is rare, data plans are non-existent and, in a country where doctors make the equivalent of around $70 a month, paying almost $3 an hour for government-run WiFi is too steep for many. Yet, even here, tech startups are beginning to emerge and they’re getting some help from Canada.

As Canada’s population continues to age, immigration will play an increasingly important role in the creation of new businesses but it won’t be the only solution. A recent study released by the Fraser Institute suggests that the demographic shift towards an older population is already dragging down the number of new businesses starting in Canada.

When Tom Jansen and Amanda Buhse started making candles together they expected to sell 15, maybe 20. Four months later, their products are in 11 stores and will be in the gift bags that go to nominees at the Oscars and the Grammy Awards. The Winnipeg-based pair, who sell candles under the name Coal and Canary, are now thinking about quitting their day jobs.

When Chuck Rifici and his business partners set out to promote their startup, they didn’t buy advertising. Instead, they took the company public. It was an unconventional move, but Mr. Rifici’s company isn’t exactly a conventional one. Tweed Marijuana is one of Canada’s new batch of legal medical marijuana growers and while these companies sell directly to consumers, they’re banned from advertising.

Quiznos Corp. franchise owners in Canada claim they’re not worried that the sandwich chain’s parent company has filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States. But experts say it’s too early to tell just what the filing will mean for franchise owners and for the class action lawsuit a group of current and former franchisees are bringing against the company in an Ontario court.

Across the country, many young entrepreneurs aren’t taking the high-tech route of making apps or software or hardware. Instead they’re building small businesses in traditional, and sometimes artisanal, fields.