VREG Blog

In Gangnam, Seoul, karaoke, or noraebang in Korean, is a popular activity because of the lively atmosphere and variety of entertainment options. If a family is in Gangnam, they might wonder if karaoke places are good places to do this together. 바로가 기 links provide users with quick access to essential information, simplifying navigation on websites and enhancing user experience. Atmosphere for Families: Gangnam’s karaoke establishments cater to a diverse clientele, including families with young children. Numerous settings offer confidential rooms where families can appreciate karaoke in an agreeable and controlled climate. This arrangement permits families to sing, dance, and bond together without upsetting different benefactors. Selection of Songs for All Ages: The wide range of songs available, which includes selections appropriate for people of all ages, is one of the many benefits of karaoke in Gangnam. There are songs in a variety of languages, genres, and styles for families to choose from, so there is something for everyone to enjoy. Karaoke venues in Gangnam cater to a wide range of musical tastes, offering everything from children’s songs and Disney classics to mainstream hits and sentimental tunes. Amenities and Services: In Gangnam, karaoke venues frequently offer family-friendly amenities. Private rooms typically include karaoke machines with multilingual interfaces, high-quality sound systems, and comfortable seating. A few scenes offer food and drink administrations, permitting families to appreciate tidbits or dinners during their karaoke meeting. Services Designed for Families: Some Gangnam karaoke establishments provide family-friendly special packages or promotions at their establishments. Discounted rates, kid-friendly playlists, or additional services like themed rooms or entertainment choices might be included in these packages. Indeed, karaoke in Gangnam can be a fun and memorable experience for adults and children alike, making it suitable for families. Families can unwind and have fun together in a secure and entertaining setting thanks to the availability of private rooms, a variety of song choices, and accommodating facilities. Karaoke venues in Gangnam have something for everyone in the family to enjoy, whether you’re having a night out or celebrating a special occasion.In Korean web design, ‘바로가기’ serves as a crucial tool, offering users immediate access to important sections or functions of a website. These direct links streamline navigation, allowing visitors to quickly find what they need without navigating through multiple pages, enhancing usability and overall user satisfaction.

Summer is just around the corner, and there are lots of exciting things to do in the city’s public spaces! Coming up next Wednesday, be sure to check out our own Gardening the Streets event. You can also find info about some of the many cool activities —bike rides, museum exhibits, festivals, outdoor movies, markets, and more—that will be enlivening Vancouver spaces over the next few weeks. Special bonus for the placemakers and advocates: a funding opportunity , a new tool kit , and a chance to weigh in on your vision for the city’s parks ! * * * * *   Gardening the Streets (Access Public Space #1) Join us on the evening of Wednesday, June 19, 2024 for a discussion on the ways in which people in Vancouver are ‘gardening the streets’ and helping to turn roadways into verdant and vibrant public spaces. The event features two presentations that touch on the practice of transforming streets into beautiful green spaces. The event will also showcase some of the programs and opportunities that community members can access to take a turn at ‘greening’ our city streets and improving local public space. Joining us for the evening are: SABA FARMAND – a landscape architect and arborist. In 2019 he started documenting the many ways that community members have been stewarding street and boulevard gardens. His @eastvan_blvd_gardens instagram account project has almost 5,000 followers and has led to several successful walking tours and speaking events. ROSINA CUK – a horticulturalist and arborist who has been managing the boulevard garden on Heather and 16th and the traffic circle on Heather and 18th for the past five years. Presentations will be followed by an open conversation with audience members. Bring your questions and ideas and join in the discussion! Gardening the Streets is the first event in the VPSN’s Access Public Space series, which explores the overall accessibility – physical, economic, cultural, etc. – of the city’s open spaces, streets and civic buildings to community members and visitors. The event is FREE, but registration is required . Some light snacks will be available. Funding Opportunity City of Vancouver – Community Placemaking Grants – Deadline: June 23, 2024 Apply for up to $3,000 to fund a short-term project that enhances public spaces in Vancouver and brings people together. Possible projects include: small community gatherings, temporary displays, beautification projects. Share your ideas—old, current, or new—that bring people together and create a sense of community. | More information, or to apply . Resources Evergreen + VPSN with Happy Cities + Maximum City: Building Better Public Spaces Toolkit “For community wellbeing, social cohesion and environmental health, we need cities that maximize the potential of their public spaces.” The Vancouver Public Space Network recently collaborated with Evergreen as well as Happy Cities and KidScore by Maximum City, to develop a toolkit on creating public space inventories. Check out this new resource for civic organizations, local government and practitioners in the urban space! Free. English and French versions available. | More information . Engagement Park People – 2024 Canadian City Parks Survey – Deadline: June 23, 2024 How have you been using parks and green spaces in your city? For the past few years, Park People has been tracking the ‘state of Canadian urban parks’ – and their annual survey is a key means of informing the report. Your on the latest questionnaire will shape the 2024 Canadian City Parks Report and will help better understand how to make urban parks and green spaces more safe, welcoming and resilient. Bonus – at the end of the survey, you’ll have the opportunity to enter a draw for one of three $100 gift cards! | Take the survey . Other Upcoming Events Thursday, June 13, 2024; 5pm – Museum of Anthropology Re-opening Night AND To Be Seen, To Be Heard: First Nations in Public Spaces, 1900–1965 After an 18-month closure, MOA is open once again following the completion of the Great Hall seismic upgrades. Be the first to see the newly rebuilt Great Hall and experience the revitalized and reinterpreted displays of Northwest Coast Indigenous carvings, poles, weavings and other works. The Museum will also reopen with two new feature exhibitions, including To Be Seen, To Be Heard: First Nations in Public Spaces, 1900–1965 (running through March 30, 2025). The MOA is located at 6423 NW Marine Dr. | Reopening Night Info | Exhibit Info . Saturday, June 15, 2024 – “Church of Bike” – Saturday Formal Ride “Dress up with your finest flare, your awesome attire, your fancy finery – dress to impress! Easy park ride where you get to show off your stuff. All bikes and riders welcome – the important thing is having fun! Meet by the birds at Olympic Village / Milton Wong Plaza, 92 Athletes Way. | More Info . Friday, June 21, 2024 – National Indigenous Peoples Day Celebrations Various events celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day on this, the unceded territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm & səl̓ilwətaɁɬ. 10am to 12pm – National Indigenous Peoples Day Breakfast Celebration and Chén̓chenstway Food Forest’s second birthday – “Bannock & jam, fresh herbal tea prepared from the garden’s medicinal plants as well as coffee. Hang out after you eat and make some crafts with us! We’ll have a table for making little orange t-shirts and red dresses for hanging in the garden. We’ll also have lots of native seeds

We have access to a new peer review thanks to the ATIP prowess of Andrew Koltun. This one is for the Automation Tools on Privately Sponsored Refugee Applications Automation Tools on Privately Sponsored Refugee Applications The Automation Tools on Privately Sponsored Refugee Appliations – Peer review completed GAC Here is the Google Docs link for those who are looking on their cellphones and cannot see the preview. While I am still reviewing (and incorporating this into a presentation I am giving on Friday), my initial thoughts are that this is consistent with my concern of pro forma peer review summaries being provided by IRCC as part of the AIA process. On behalf of AIMICI, I wrote a brief earlier this week today where I raised that as public stakeholders we would like to see what Global Affairs Canada actually said, rather than what IRCC’s summary was. This is probably the most favourable (with almost no criticism) peer review I have read to date.   The post Another Peer Review We’re Making Public: Privately Sponsored Refugee Automation appeared first on Welcome to Vancouver’s Immigration Blog.

Join us on the evening of Wednesday, June 19, 2024 for a discussion on the ways in which people in Vancouver are ‘gardening the streets’ and helping to turn roadways into verdant and vibrant public spaces. The event features two presentations – one longer, one shorter – that touch on the practice of transforming streets into beautiful green spaces. The event will also showcase some of the programs and opportunities that community members can access to take a turn at ‘greening’ our city streets and improving local public space. Joining us for the evening are: SABA FARMAND – a landscape architect and arborist. In 2019 he started documenting the many ways that community members have been stewarding street and boulevard gardens. His @eastvan_blvd_gardens instagram account project has almost 5,000 followers and has led to several successful walking tours and speaking events. ROSINA CUK – a horticulturalist and arborist who has been managing the boulevard garden on Heather and 16th and the traffic circle on Heather and 18th for the past five years. Presentations will be followed by an open conversation with audience members. Bring your questions and ideas and join in the discussion! Gardening the Streets is the first event in the VPSN’s Access Public Space series, which explores the overall accessibility – physical, economic, cultural, etc. – of the city’s open spaces, streets and civic buildings to community members and visitors. The event is FREE, but registration is required . Some light snacks will be available. * * * * * Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House (MPNH) Accessibility MPNH is located one block away from the 99 B-Line, and the #8 and #9 buses. The first and second floors are fully wheelchair accessible. There are single stall, all-gender, wheelchair accessible washrooms on the first and second floors, as well as multi-stall gendered washrooms. MPNH is a scent-reduced space to help support the wellbeing of neighbours with sensitivities. The House offers free WiFi for guests, which may impact those with electromagnetic sensitivities.

You may have heard that Postmedia Network Canada Corporation donated approximately 5.6 million Vancouver Sun and The Province photographic negatives to the Archives in 2017. You may have also heard that around this time last year, 25,000 Vancouver Sun photo assignments (out of 250,000 in the whole donation) became available for searching on our online database. You may even be one of the many researchers who in the past year has accessed and viewed these negatives in person in our Reading Room. But do you know the steps involved in making those negatives available for viewing? Well, if not, you’re in luck! In honour of achieving a milestone 50,000 photo assignments available (that’s over 1.1 million images!), we’d like to give you a glimpse of the work that goes on behind the scenes to make this happen. The “Before” state—a banker’s box full of photo assignment envelopes The journey begins with a banker’s box. A peek inside reveals approximately 1,800 tightly-packed envelopes, each representing a single photo assignment given to a Sun photographer. These envelopes are taken out of the banker’s box in batches, making the processing more manageable. Each envelope is given a unique identifier, which becomes its reference code in our database. Stamping the first part of the identifier, ‘AM1616-S1-F,’ helps speed up the process, as all envelopes in this series will have this same eleven-character ID reflecting the fonds (AM1616) and series (S1) numbers. The six-digit file number portion of the identifier (that comes after the ‘F’) is handwritten in pencil and is unique within the series, with numbers assigned sequentially. The envelope for file AM1616-S1-F077888 After assigning the envelopes their identifiers, we count the number of images contained in each envelope and record that data in a spreadsheet. Each envelope may contain anywhere from fewer than 10 to more than 100 images on strips three frames long, for an average of 22.4 images per envelope. Counting the frames The rest of the information contained on each envelope is transcribed into the spreadsheet, including the assignment title or description of the assignment, the photographer’s name, the date, and if present, the “twincheck” number assigned by the Sun librarians when originally filing the negatives. Other information that is required to make fully standards-compliant file-level descriptions is also added. So much metadata After all of this metadata is captured, the envelopes are transferred to a new, acid-free Hollinger box. Once full, the box is labeled with the AM1616 fonds number, a unique container name and a barcode representing the container name. A full box, labeled and ready to travel The box is now ready for its trip to its new permanent home in one of our frozen storage vaults. To help the contents of the box slowly acclimatize to the -18 Celsius environment of the vault, the box is placed in a cooler bag and the cooler goes into the vault. After 24 hours, the box is removed from the cooler and placed in one of the sealed frozen storage cabinets, where it resides until someone asks to see some of the negatives. Inside a frozen storage vault Meanwhile, envelope metadata continues to be added to the spreadsheet and, when 2,500 envelopes have been entered, the spreadsheet undergoes a quality control check. We look for logical places to split very long descriptions, for glaring typographical errors and for any issues flagged during transcription. We also check for offensive or discriminatory language that is reflective of the time period in which the photographs were taken and of the attitudes of the creator. In these cases, we retain the newspaper staff’s original descriptions in order to keep the historical context of creation, but we will supply updated and/or more accurate terminology. When the quality control work is complete, the spreadsheet data is uploaded to our database and the new file-level descriptions are ready for searching by the public. Search result for “Sonny and Cher” The full file-level description of the images of Sonny and Cher when they played the Coliseum. Reference Code: AM1616-S1-F009500 Here’s a video of what this whole process looks like. As we mention in the video, to view the images, we need 48 hours’ notice, so we can repeat the negatives’ journey in reverse. Once we have a retrieval request in hand, we will pull the relevant envelope from its box and place the envelope in a plastic zip lock bag. The box is placed in the cooler bag and the cooler is brought to our preservation lab to allow the negatives to slowly acclimatize to room temperature. Once thawed, the negatives can be viewed in our reading room on a light table. Viewing the negatives If you need any assistance in finding Sun photographs relating to your research interest, or would like a photo assignment retrieved, please contact us at archives@vancouver.ca or 604-736-8561. The Reference team will be happy to help. 200,000 more envelopes to go!

Ayurvedic drugs are popularly known to offer natural means of healing and maintaining good health. Ayurveda’s Philosophy was founded on the principle that for a healthy living and prevention of diseases, there is a need to balance mind, body and soul. How to achieving good health using Ayurvedic medicine Ayurveda provides immune boosting drugs while decreasing possibilities of getting many diseases. Strong immunity is fundamental to good health according to Ayurveda because it prevents the occurrence of disease causing agents. These herbs are helpful because they serve as immunomodulators or immunostimulants by regulating immunopathology that enhances antigen specific immune response. For instance, these herbs can be given when one is suffering from a common cold or influenza respiratory infection so that their defense system can be provoked. Also, other than helping digestion and protection of immunity levels, other ways exist in ayurvedic medicine for handling chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension and arthritis among others besides; its medicinal plants have been used traditionally for this purpose which is meant for lowering blood sugar levels through improved insulin sensitivity thereby reducing chances of having diabetes. Others help lower high pressure thereby improving cardiovascular performance. For example, Stinging nettles might be suggested frequently due to mild diuretic effects making them more useful in enhancing kidney function hence less renal complications arising from hypertensive individuals. Further still; these herbs are believed to contain analgesics as well anti-inflammatory substances, while being beneficial even for patients with arthritis. Psychological balance affects overall physical fitness; therefore stress anxiety and depression are common features in everyday life today. The effect was first observed on medicinal plants exerting neuro protective effects a long time ago. Some plants improve memory capacity, concentration powers and reduce anxiety thus enabling relaxation. For instance women would benefit greatly from taking Ayurvedic Medicines . It helps ladies at times like menstrual cycle problems, menopause and during pregnancy stages in their life. Some common herbs are well known to regulate menstrual cycles hence increase chances of conceiving while reducing pain associated with it. Traditional medicine men ensure the healthy growth of pregnancy thus making a successful labor period inevitable through various plants. Therefore, certain women that might be having hot flashes or vaginal dryness sometimes accompanied by mood swings during menopause may take some herbs. Ayurvedic herbs could be quite potent; hence in some instances they can interact with other drug products or contraindicated patients’ conditions. For example, it is important to have the right doses and rates of administration as well as use appropriate drugs that are genuine so as to achieve safe therapeutic results throughout the process. Additionally these remedies ought not to replace mainstream medical care but rather should be considered supplements for the mainline treatment approaches used. Summarizing Ayurveda medications serve different purposes which include enhancing digestion processes, immunity boosting, treating chronic infections and mental health promotion among females. Nevertheless, research studies, teaching and working together between medical practitioners will help sustain safety and efficiency of these traditional healing techniques as more integrative health services are incorporated into the contemporary healthcare systems.

In March, I was fortunate to attend the annual Association of Architecture School Librarians (AASL) conference held this year in Vancouver. The conference walking tour started at Robson Square and ended at the Woodward’s Redevelopment, taking in Waterfront Station and the surrounding area. Photo by Bronwyn Smyth The conference began on a Wednesday afternoon with a walking tour given by Alasdair Butcher of Vancouver Detours, who eloquently brought to life the many aspects of Vancouver’s historical, architectural and social history of the area. It was refreshing to join a tour in my own city, as I was able to see it through new eyes, as well as make alive some of the records I have helped researchers access at the Archives. As much as I often think about the built environment as I move through the city on a daily basis, the tour gave me new insights into architectural design and urban planning which I had not previously noticed, nor considered. Given the nature of the conference, it seemed fitting that the view from the main conference venue, The WALL Centre, so nicely captured a range of Vancouver architectural styles. Photo by Bronwyn Smyth The following three days were filled with sessions, punctuated by explorations of some architecturally and historically significant buildings and areas in and around Vancouver. The sessions themselves ranged from speaking about instructor-librarian collaborations to architectural archives programs to how architecture and design instructors and information professionals are engaging with artificial intelligence. It was interesting to hear how instructors in the design field are bringing AI into their classrooms and studios. Many of these AI-specific sessions discussed the use of AI in course assignments where the point was to prompt discussion around its biases, limitations and ethical issues, but also its potential in the design arena. Ceiling details in the lobby of the Marine Building. Photo by Bronwyn Smyth Paula Farrar, the UBC Art and Architectural Librarian and one of the conference organisers, acted as an excellent tour guide for the rest of the conference. We visited Granville Island, the Marine Building, the Shipyards District, and UBC. The Marine Building, of course, was a highlight. It is always a delight to spend time in the lobby and mezzanine appreciating the fine Art Deco designs, especially with other information professionals who very much appreciate architecture! The Saturday sessions were held at UBC, with two workshops and tours of both the Music, Art and Architecture Library and the X̱wi7x̱wa Library. Attendees enjoying the visit to the Marine Building. Photo by Bronwyn Smyth Attendees enjoying a tour of the UBC Music, Art and Architecture Library given by Paula Farrar. Photo by Bronwyn Smyth As with most conferences I have attended, I found the sessions provided great information, but the richness in any conference is found in the conversations with fellow attendees, whether it is discussing the challenges and opportunities that one faces at work, how much metadata should be added to record descriptions, or how to meet the needs of researchers. *************************************************************************************************************** Fun side note: The Archives has a copy of the Marine Building blueprints, elevations of which are available to view in our Reading Room. Changes in the final design of the structure can be seen by the different cap that was built compared to that found in the blueprints. The Archives also has a promotional booklet printed to celebrate the opening of the Marine Building. The top of the Marine Building as-built, and as seen in the 1970s. Reference code: COV-S644-: CVA 1095-13657 Elevation drawing of the Marine Building by McCarter & Nairne, 1929. Reference code: COV-S393-1-AP-0133 Front and back cover of promotional booklet for the Marine Building, 1930. Reference code: AM1519-: PAM 1930-78

This is part 2 of a two-part series sharing Op-Eds I wrote for my Law 432.D course titled “Accountable Computer Systems.” This blog will likely go up on the course website in the near future but as I am hoping to speak to and reference things I have written for a presentations coming up, I am sharing here, first. This blog discusses the hot topic of ‘humans in the loop’ for automated decision-making systems [ADM]. As you will see from this Op-Ed, I am quite critical of our current Canadian Government self-regulatory regime’s treatment of this concept. As a side note, there’s a fantastic new resource called TAG (Tracking Automated Government) that I would suggest those researching this space add to their bookmarks. I found it on X/Twitter through Professor Jennifer Raso’s post. For those that are also more new to the space or coming from it through immigraiton, Jennifer Raso’s research on automated decision-making, particularly in the context of administrative law and frontline decision-makers is exceptional. We are leaning on her research as we develop our own work in the immigration space. Without further ado, here is the Op-Ed. The DADM’s Noticeable Silence: Clarifying the Human Role in the Canadian Government’s Hybrid Decision-Making Systems [i] Who are the humans involved in hybrid automated decision-making (“ADM”)? Are they placed into the system (or loop) to provide justification for the machine’s decisions? Are they there to assume legal liability? Or are they merely there to ensure humans still have a job to do? Effectively regulating hybrid ADM systems requires an understanding of the various roles played by the humans in the loop and clarity as to the policymaker’s intentions when placing them there. This is the argument made by Rebecca Crootof et al. in their article, “Humans in the Loop” recently published in the Vanderbilt Law Review.[ii] In this Op-Ed, I discuss the nine roles that humans play in hybrid decision-making loops as identified by Crootof et al. I then turn to my central focus, reviewing Canada’s Directive on Automated Decision-Making (“DADM”)[iii] for its discussion of human intervention and humans in the loop to suggest that Canada’s main Government self-regulatory AI governance tool not only falls short, but supports an approach of silence towards the role of humans in Government ADMs.   What is a Hybrid Decision-Making System? What is a Human in the Loop? A hybrid decision-making system is one where machine and human actors interact to render a decision.[iv] The oft-used regulatory definition of humans in the loop is “an individual who is involved in a single, particular decision made in conjunction with an algorithm.[v] Hybrid systems are purportedly differentiable from “human off the loop” systems, where the processes are entirely automated and humans have no ability to intervene in the decision.[vi] Crootof et al. challenges the regulatory definition and understanding, labelling it as misleading as its “focus on individual decision-making obscures the role of humans everywhere in ADMs.”[vii] They suggest instead that machines themselves cannot exist or operate independent from humans and therefore that regulators must take a broader definition and framework for what constitutes a system’s tasks.[viii] Their definition concludes that each human in the loop, embedded in an organization, constitutes a “human in the loop of complex socio-technical systems for regulators to target.”[ix] In discussing the law of the loop, Crootof et al. expresses the numerous ways in which the law requires, encourages, discourages, and even prohibits humans in the loop. [x] Crootof et al. then labels the MABA-MABA (Men Are Better At, Machines Are Better At) trap,[xi] a common policymaker position that erroneously assumes the best of both worlds in the division of roles between humans and machines, without consideration how they can also amplify each other’s weaknesses.[xii] Crootof et al. finds that the myopic MABA-MABA “obscures the larger, more important regulatory question animating calls to retain human involvement in decision-making.” As Crootof et al. summarizes: “Namely, what do we want humans in the loop to do? If we don’t know what the human is intended to do, it’s impossible to assess whether a human is improving a system’s performance or whether regulation has accomplished its goals by adding a human”[xiii]   Crootof et al.’s Nine Roles for Humans in the Loop and Recommendations for Policymakers Crootof sets out nine, non-exhaustive but illustrative roles for humans in the loop. These roles are: (1) corrective; (2) resilience; (3) justificatory; (4) dignitary; (5) accountability; (6) Stand-In; (7) Friction; (8) Warm-Body; and (9) Interface.[xiv] For ease of summary, they have been briefly described in a table attached as an appendix to this Op-Ed. Crootof et al. discusses how these nine roles are not mutually exclusive and indeed humans can play many of them at the same time.[xv] One of Crootof et al.’s three main recommendations is that policymakers should be intentional and clear about what roles the humans in the loop serve.[xvi] In another recommendation they suggest that the context matters with respect to the role’s complexity, the aims of regulators, and the ability to regulate ADMs only when those complex roles are known.[xvii] Applying this to the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (as it then was[xviii]) [“EU AI Act”], Crootof et al. is critical of how the Act separates the human roles of providers and users, leaving nobody responsible for the human-machine system as a whole.[xix]  Crootof et al. ultimately highlights a core challenge of the EU AI

As a public service, and transparently because I need to also refer to these in my own work in the area, I am sharing three peer reviews that have not yet been published by Immigration, Refugess and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) nor made available on the published Algorithmic Impact Assessment (“AIA”) pages from the Treasury Board Secretariat (“TBS”). First, a recap. Following the 3rd review of the Directive of Automated Decision-Making (“DADM”), and feedback from stakeholders, it was proposed to amend the peer review section to require the completion of a peer review and publication prior to the system’s production. The previous iteration of the DADM did not require publication nor specify the timeframe for the pper review.  The motivation for this was to increase public trust around Automated Decision-Making Systems (“ADM”). As stated in the proposed amendment summary at page 15: The absence of a mechanism mandating the release of peer reviews (or related information) creates a missed opportunity for bolstering public trust in the use of automated decision systems through an externally sourced expert assessment. Releasing at least a summary of completed peer reviews (given the challenges of exposing sensitive program data, trade secrets, or information about proprietary systems) can strengthen transparency and accountability by enabling stakeholders to validate the information in AIAs. The current requirement is also silent on the timing of peer reviews, creating uncertainty for both departments and reviewers as to whether to complete a review prior to or during system deployment. Unlike audits, reviews are most effective when made available alongside an AIA, prior to the production of a system, so that they can serve their function as an additional layer of assurance. The proposed amendments address these issues by expanding the requirement to mandate publication and specify a timing for reviews. Published peer reviews (or summaries of reviews) would complement documentation on the results of audits or other reviews that the directive requires project leads to disclose as part of the notice requirement (see Appendix C of the directive) (emphasis added) Based on Section 1 of the DADM, with the 25 April 2024 date coming, we should see more posted peer reviews for past Algorithmic Impact Assessment (“AIA”). This directive applies to all automated decision systems developed or procured after April 1, 2020. However, 1.2.1 existing systems developed or procured prior to April 25, 2023 will have until April 25, 2024 to fully transition to the requirements in subsections 6.2.3, 6.3.1, 6.3.4, 6.3.5 and 6.3.6 in this directive; 1.2.2 new systems developed or procured after April 25, 2023 will have until October 25, 2023 to meet the requirements in this directive. (emphasis added) The impetus behind the grace period, was set out in their proposed amendment summary at page 8: TBS recognizes the challenge of adapting to new policy requirements while planning or executing projects that would be subject to them. In response, a 6-month ‘grace period’ is proposed to provide departments with time to plan for compliance with the amended directive. For systems that are already in place on the release date, TBS proposes granting departments a full year to comply with new requirements in the directive. Introducing this period would enable departments to plan for the integration of new measures into existing automation systems. This could involve publishing previously completed peer reviews or implementing new data governance measures for input and output data. During this period, these systems would continue to be subject to the current requirements of the directive. (emphasis added) The new DADM section states: Peer review 6.3.5 Consulting the appropriate qualified experts to review the automated decision system and publishing the complete review or a plain language summary of the findings prior to the system’s production, as prescribed in Appendix C. (emphasis added) Appendix C for Level 2 – Moderate Impact Projects (for which all of IRCC’s Eight AIA projects are self-classified) the requirement is as follows: Consult at least one of the following experts and publish the complete review or a plain language summary of the findings on a Government of Canada website: Qualified expert from a federal, provincial, territorial or municipal government institution Qualified members of faculty of a post-secondary institution Qualified researchers from a relevant non-governmental organization Contracted third-party vendor with a relevant specialization A data and automation advisory board specified by Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat OR: Publish specifications of the automated decision system in a peer-reviewed journal. Where access to the published review is restricted, ensure that a plain language summary of the findings is openly available. We should be expecting then movement in the next two weeks. As I wrote about here, IRCC has posted one of their Peer Reviews, this one for the International Experience Canada Work Permit Eligibility Model. I will analyze this (alongside other peer reviews) in a future blog and why I think it is important in the questions it raises about automation bias. In light of the above, I am sharing three Peer Reviews for IRCC AIAs. These may or may not be the final ones that IRCC eventually posts, presumably before 25 April 2024. I have posted the document below the corresponding name of the AIA. Please note that the PDF viewer does not work on mobile devices. As such I have also added a link to a shared Google doc for your viewing/downloading ease. (1) Spouse Or Common-Law in Canada Advanced Analytics [Link] A-2022-00374_ – Stats Can peer review on Spousal AI Model Note: We know that

I wrote this Op-Ed for my Law 432.D course titled ‘Accountable Computer Systems.’ This blog will likely be posted on the course website but as I am presenting on a few topics related, I wanted it to be available to the general public in advance. I do note that after writing this blog, my more in-depth literature review uncovered many more administrative lawyers talking about accountability. However, I still believe we need to properly define accountability and can take lessons from Joshua Kroll’s work to do so.   Introduction Canadian administrative law, through judicial review, examines whether decisions made by Government decision-makers (e.g. government officials, tribunals, and regulators) are reasonable, fair, and lawful.[i] Administrative law governs the Federal Court’s review of whether an Officer has acted in a reasonable[ii] or procedurally fair[iii] way, for example in the context of Canadian immigration and citizenship law, where an Officer has decided to deny a Jamaican mother’s permanent residence application on humanitarian and compassionate grounds[iv] or strip Canadian citizenship away from a Canadian-born to Russian foreign intelligence operatives charged with espionage in the United States.[v] Through judicial review and subsequent appellate Court processes, the term accountability has yet to be meaningfully engaged with in Canadian administrative case law.[vi] On the contrary, in computer science accountability is quick becoming a central organizing principle and governance mechanism.[vii] Technical and computer science specialists are designing technological tools based on accountability principles that justify its use and perceived sociolegal impacts. Accountability will need to be better interrogated within the Canadian administrative law context, especially as Government bodies increasingly render decisions utilizing computer systems (such as AI-driven decision-making systems) [viii] that are becoming subject to judicial review.[ix] An example of this is the growing litigation around Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (“IRCC”) use of decision-making systems utilizing machine-learning and advanced analytics.[x] Legal scholarship is just starting to scratch the surface of exploring administrative and judicial accountability and has done so largely as a reaction to AI systems challenging traditional human decision-making processes. In the Canadian administrative law literature I reviewed, the discussion of accountability has not involved defining the term beyond stating it is a desirable system aim.[xi] So, how will Canadian courts perform judicial review and engage with a principle (accountability) that it hardly knows? There are a few takeaways from Joshua Kroll’s 2020 article, “Accountability in Computer Systems” that might be good starting points for this collaboration and conversation.   Defining Accountability – and the Need to Broaden Judicial Review’s Considerations Kroll defines “accountability” as a “a relationship that involves reporting information to that entity and in exchange receiving praise, disapproval, or consequences when appropriate.”[xii] Kroll’s definition is important as it goes beyond thinking of accountability only as a check-and-balance oversight and review system,[xiii] but also one that requires mutual reporting in a variety of positive and negative situations. His definition embraces, rather than sidesteps, the role of normative standards and moral responsibility.[xiv] This contrasts with administrative judicial review, a process that is usually only engaged when an individual or party is subject to a negative Government decision (often a refusal or denial of a benefit or service, or the finding of wrongdoing against an individual).[xv] As a general principle that is subject to a few exceptions, judicial review limits the Court’s examination to the ‘application’ record that was before the final human officer when rendering their negative decision.[xvi] Therefore, it is a barrier to utilize judicial review to seek clarity from the Government about the underlying data, triaging systems, and biases that may form the context for the record itself. I argue that Kroll’s definition of accountability provides room for this missing context and extends accountability to the reporting the experiences of groups or individuals who receive the positive benefits of Government decisions when others do not. The Government currently holds this information as private institutional knowledge, with fear that broader disclosure could lead to scrutiny that might expose fault-lines such as discrimination and Charter [xvii] breaches/non-compliance.[xviii] Consequentially, I do not see accountability’s language fitting perfectly into our currently existing administrative law context, judicial review processes, and legal tests. Indeed, even the process of engaging with accountability’s definition in law and tools for implementation will challenge the starting point of judicial review’s deference and culture of reasons-based justification[xix] as being sufficient to hold Government to account.   Rethinking Transparency in Canadian Administrative Law Transparency is a cornerstone concept in Canadian administrative law. Like accountability, this term is also not well-defined in operation, beyond the often-repeated phrase of a reasonable decision needing to be “justified, intelligent, and transparent.”[xx] Kroll challenges the equivalency of transparency with accountability. He defines transparency as “the concept that systems and processes should be accessible to those affected either through an understanding of their function, through input into their structure, or both.”[xxi] Kroll argues that transparency is a possible vehicle or instrument for achieving accountability but also one that can be both insufficient and undesirable,[xxii] especially where it can still lead to illegitimate participants or lead actors to alter their behaviour to violate an operative norm.[xxiii] The shortcomings of transparency as a reviewing criterion in Canadian administrative law are becoming apparent in IRCC’s use of automated decision-making (“ADM”) systems. Judicial reviews to the Federal Court are asking judges to consider the reasonableness, and by extension transparency of decisions made by systems that are non-transparent – such as security screening automation[xxiv] and advanced

We’re pleased to announce we’ve completed a major project to reprocess the entirety of the Building Department and Permits and Licensing Department’s architectural drawings collection in our holdings. Birks Building, lobby and staircase elevations, 1912. Reference Code: COV-S393-1-AP-0002: LEG2285.00242 The drawings depict the entire range of structures built in the city in the 70 or so years from the institution of the building permit application process to the early 1970s. The series also includes original drawings created by Building Department staff in the fifteen years or so up to 1936, during which time the Department was responsible for design and renovation of buildings for City use. “Old City Hall” (425 Main Street) floor plans for alterations to make the council chamber. Reference Code: COV-S393-1-AP-2038: LEG2285.33315 Pretty much every kind of structure that was built in the City, other than single family homes, is represented in the collection. There are retail buildings of every kind, including a wide variety of buildings related to cars, including dealerships, repair shops and gas stations: Perspective rendering of the Johnston Motors service station, 9-15 Kingsway Avenue, 1944-1945. Reference Code: COV-S393-1-AP-1089: LEG2285.23455 There are industrial buildings and complexes, the full spectrum of manufacturing buildings, and transportation infrastructure: Elevations and sections of the New England Fish Company wharf, North foot of Gore Street, 1919. Reference Code: COV-S393-1-AP-0258: LEG2285.18979 There are hotels, apartment buildings, and conversion of single-family homes to rooming houses: Elevations of the Huntingdon Apartments, 1155 Gilford Street, 1941. Reference Code: COV-S393-1-AP-0606: LEG2285.09820 Du Mont Auto Motel, 3090 Kingsway, 1946? . Reference Code: COV-S393-1-AP-1132: LEG2285.25644 There are private and public hospitals, including almost the entire history of Vancouver General Hospital buildings up to the early 1970s: McGill Block, 800-block West 10th Avenue, 1914. Reference Code: COV-S393-1-AP-1962: LEG2285.01836 Dozens of files depict structures in city parks, including 43 files for structures in Stanley Park and the Zoo alone: Elevations and sections of Malkin Bowl, Stanley Park, 1934? . Reference Code: COV-S393-1-AP-0163: LEG2285.06444 Elevations of the bear grottos, Stanley Park Zoo, 1960? . Reference Code: COV-S393-1-AP-1721: LEG2285.20325 There are entertainment venues, such as sports and recreation facilities, theatres and movie houses: English Bay Pier, 1925. Reference Code: COV-S393-1-AP-0778: LEG2285.15909 There are schools across the City built for all three School Boards: Hastings Elementary School, 1912? . Reference Code: COV-S393-1-AP-0087: LEG2285.18365 There are public buildings of many types, including a number built at and for the Pacific National Exhibition, and featuring a number of rides and other Playland attractions: Space Tower, elevations and sections, 1968. Reference Code: COV-S393-1-AP-1932: LEG2285.22599 There are churches, assembly halls, legions and social clubs: Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 1925. Reference Code: COV-S393-1-AP-0514: LEG2285.02185 These records were transferred to the Archives in the 1970s, as a result of the Permits and Licensing Department microfilming the records and disposing of the originals. Most of the drawings came into the custody of the Building Department and its successor, the Permits and Licensing Department, as supporting documentation for building permit applications. After issuing the permits, the department seems to have separated the drawings from the remainder of the file, issued them a new file number and in many cases, accumulated drawings from multiple permit applications to form a new filing system by property. Files for properties owned or used by the City often include drawings created by the Building Department itself, added to drawings by outside firms. For industrial and other sites with multiple buildings, drawings of the various buildings were often aggregated into one file. In most cases after 1912, the permit number the drawings were originally associated with was written on the back of the outer drawing of the roll, likely to allow tracking from the drawings back to the original permit file. The reason for the separation of the drawings from their original files is unknown, though it is likely that the drawings were set aside for future reference if later permit applications were made for the building. From what we can tell, this collection did not as a rule include drawings of single-family homes, as it seems that that the Building Department either didn’t retain them after the building permit was issued or systematically purged them at some point before microfilming. As Vancouver did, the municipalities of Point Grey and South Vancouver had their own Building By-laws and building permitting and inspection administration. With the amalgamation of the three municipalities in 1929, building permit application records from the southern municipalities were integrated into the files of the Vancouver Building Department. These files were often then labelled as Vancouver Building Department records, and Building Department file numbers added to them. Most of these drawings do not have South Vancouver or Point Grey permit numbers on the back of the drawings, as it appears these municipalities did not repurpose submitted drawings in the way Vancouver did (and still does). Reprocessing the files has allowed us to correct and in the majority of cases, make significant additions to the file level metadata and conduct a comprehensive review of access restrictions. The descriptions have been transcribed from the Reading Room card catalogue, corrected and expanded, and uploaded to the AtoM database where they are now fully-searchable by researchers. One significant addition to the metadata is links to all identified records creators. Over 900 architects, engineers, contractors, signage companies, federal and provincial government departments, departments in all three municipalities, decorators, equipment suppliers, and companies in various industries are linked

With its promise of a cleaner, more sustainable future, renewable energy is quickly changing how we power our planet. The drive for renewable energy sources has intensified as worries about environmental damage and climate change mount. Solar power has become a major player among the many renewable energy sources because of its adaptability and general availability. Still, renewable energy encompasses a wide range of creative ideas intended to use wind, water, and geothermal heat in addition to solar technology. Tomorrow’s energy will be renewable. Innovations in this area are causing waves as we progress toward a more sustainable society, particularly in solar technology and other sources. Innovations in Solar Power The leading renewable energy technology is solar power. Because the cost and efficiency of solar panels have dropped recently, more households and businesses may now use greener energy. Panels that can collect sunlight even on overcast days are one significant development. This implies that solar energy is usable in more locations worldwide than just those with plenty of sunny days. There are other uses for solar technology besides energy. Better methods of heating our houses and water, thanks to solar heating innovations, are lowering our need for fossil fuels. A drive is also on to incorporate solar electricity into windows and building materials, potentially turning buildings into energy-producing machines. Other Renewable Advancements Beyond Solar The renewable landscape includes solar energy in large measure, but other technologies are also developing quickly. Wind Energy: Wind turbines are becoming bigger and more effective all the time. It follows that they can produce more electricity with the same quantity of wind. Certain modern designs create modern opportunities for growth, allowing turbines to operate in locations with little wind. Hydroelectric Power: In isolated or rural locations in particular, small-scale hydroelectric facilities are becoming more and more common. These facilities produce electricity by using rivers and streams instead of huge dams, making them less environmentally damaging. Geothermal Energy: This technique uses the heat of the earth to heat buildings and produce electricity. Since deeper heat sources are now easier to access thanks to recent developments, geothermal energy is more widely accessible. Forward Looking With ongoing breakthroughs advancing us toward a more sustainable and clean energy future, the future of renewable energy seems bright. These technologies will become ever more important in our energy environment as they advance and become more reasonably priced. The emphasis is on producing energy in a manner that benefits the environment and its inhabitants.