News

#AccelerateAction: Women Moving the Dial

Author: Harsharan Nagra

For International Women’s Day 2025, the CAN-TECH Women in Technology (WIT) Committee hosted an inspiring evening of connection, conversation, and celebration of women driving change in the tech industry and beyond at The Loft (18 Tank House Lane, Toronto). The event embraced this year’s theme, “Accelerate Action,” moderated discussion with our speakers, and a unique dinner experience that fostered deeper conversations among attendees.

Moderated by Christine Jackson, the discussion featured four extraordinary women who shared their journeys, insights, and impact in their respective fields. Kate Anderson reflected on the power of graceful failures, emphasizing that the moments of falling short often teach us the most about ourselves. She shared the meaningful inspiration behind her company’s logo, a samara seed, which symbolizes the beauty of falling with purpose and resilience. Aarani Stoneham spoke about how witnessing her parents’ hard work building a new life shaped her grit and determination. Her journey is a testament to perseverance and the impact of lived experiences on professional drive. Lisa Danay Wallace touched on topics of advocacy for women in law and technology, and she also highlighted the importance of representation, mentorship, and empowering women to take up space in leadership roles. Deborah Rosati highlighted the importance of mentorship, breaking the common misconception that a mentor must be a well-established leader. Instead, she encouraged attendees to seek guidance from those just a step ahead in their career journey, someone whose path they resonate with.

Left to right: (1) Christine Jackson, Partner, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP; (2) Lisa Danay Wallace, Partner, WeirFoulds LLP; (3) Dr. Deborah Rosati, FCPA, FCA, ICD.D GCB.D, CCB.D; (4) Katherine Ayre, Chief of Staff, Legal & Compliance AAM/Aviation Lawyer, Pivot Airlines; (5) Aarani Stoneham, Head of Legal, Data Privacy, AI Governance and Ethics, ModiFace (L'Oreal Group Company).

Left to right: (1) Christine Jackson; (2) Lisa Danay Wallace; (3) Dr. Deborah Rosati; (4) Katherine Ayre; (5) Aarani Stoneham.

Throughout the evening, everyone had the opportunity to connect over each course of the meal, exchanging personal stories and insights in an intimate setting. A question jar made its way around the tables, allowing guests to submit their questions, which the speakers addressed, sparking meaningful discussions and takeaways. Towards the end of the night, as attendees finished, you could see many engaging and meaningful conversations at each table.

Thank you to Wendes Keung and Mimi Palmer, Co-Chairs of the WIT Committee, for their leadership and dedication in making this year’s International Women’s Day event a resounding success. Through their efforts, the event was not just a celebration but a catalyst for empowerment and change. We are grateful for their commitment to uplifting women in tech and beyond!

Left to right: (1) Mimi Palmer, Co-Chair of WIT and Partner, WeirFoulds LLP; (2) Wendes Keung, Co-Chair of WIT and Associate, McCarthy Tétrault LLP; (3) Aarani Stoneham; (4) Lisa Danay Wallace; (5) Christine Jackson; (6) Katherine Ayre; and (7) Dr. Deborah Rosati.

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Not surprisingly, creative and technology sectors take different positions on the intersection/collision between GenAI and copyright

The Government of Canada conducted a Consultation on Copyright in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence between October 12, 2023, and January 15, 2024, seeking input on the effects of generative artificial intelligence (AI) on copyright and the marketplace. On February 11, 2025, it released the “What we heard” report, which – not surprisingly – reports a divergence of views between technology and AI companies, on one hand, and creators and creative industries, on the other. 

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Regulator is seeking an order to change its privacy practices following 2024 investigation

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada announced on March 3, 2025 that it had filed an application in the Federal Court (T-702-25) under  the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act to require Aylo, the operator of the PornHub website, to change its practices in accord with the Commissioner’s 2024 report of findings.

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Nova Scotia Plaintiff awarded $60,000 for unrelenting social media criticism

The case of Terris v. Meisner arose from what the trial judge found to be a sad, regrettable set of facts. The defendant’s son was an intellectually disabled adult who was a longtime resident of a care home, at which the plaintiff worked as a nurse. The son had a history of being physically violent to himself and others. One night in 2016 the son became extremely agitated and, due to understaffing, had to be restrained; among other behaviour he was flinging feces at people, some of which hit the plaintiff, who was among the staff dealing with the situation. At one point a hand towel was placed in front of his face, apparently to keep him from spitting on people; the hand towel was misidentified in notes as a “pillowcase” though that was later corrected.

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Alberta law effectively turned scrap dealers into state agents

In R v Khairullah, the Alberta Court of Justice was asked by an accused to declare that an Alberta law’s requirement that scrap metal dealers collect personal information from scrap metal sellers, which is entered into a police-accessible database, is an unreasonable search under section 8 of the Charter. The Court found that requiring a private business to gather personal information from a lawful seller of scrap metal made the business an agent of the state, and the breadth of personal information and how it was stored resulted in a violation of section 8 of the Charter. This decision may have broader application in other “know your customer” contexts. 

The accused, a scrap metal dealer, was previously charged with violating the Scrap Metal Dealers and Recyclers Identification Act. He challenged the constitutionality of the Act and regulations (addressed in 2023 ABCJ 235 and 2024 ABKB 286), and also challenged the customer identification requirements under section 8 of the Charter.

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Majority of the Court of Appeal find a thumbs up emoji was an electronic signature for the purposes of The Sale of Goods Act

In Achter Land & Cattle Ltd. v South West Terminal Ltd., the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal was called upon to consider whether a contract was validly formed under the province’s Sale of Goods Act via a replied “thumbs up” emoji.

A purchaser of grain and a commodities vendor disputed whether a valid contract arose for the sale of grain, the discussion of which took place over text messages. An employee of the vendor sent a proposed agreement to the putative purchaser and requested confirmation. The proposed agreement was an image of the front page of the proposed agreement, along with the words “Please confirm flax contract.” What came back was a simple thumbs up emoji. 

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As resources for dealing with AI in legal settings emerge, so too do court decisions dealing with it as evidence

The Canadian legal world has slowly but surely begun various efforts to figure out, react to and (in appropriate circumstances) embrace the many issues raised by the onslaught of “artificial intelligence” (AI) and specifically one of its main manifestations, “generative artificial intelligence” (GenAI). GenAI, as is well known, is the subset of AI that creates content (text, images, sounds), its capacity for which is generated by “training” on large sets of data (the latter has been gained primarily from internet scraping, which has generated numerous intellectual property issues and at least one federal government consultation report). In law as in many sectors, much attention has been focused on “large language models” (LLMs), GenAI platforms that produce text and images in response to user prompts, and are designed to mimic human behaviour and/or tasks.

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L. Kerry Vickar Business Law Clinic students at the 2024 Fall CAN-TECH conference. Left to right: Ken Vong (2L), Daniel Rosenthal (3L), Paul Chorney (2L), Serena Bevilacqua (2L), Connor Giesbrecht (3L), Jennifer Davidson Partner at Deeth Williams Wall LLP and Past President of CAN-TECH, Andrew Alleyne Partner at Fasken and President of CAN-TECH, Skylar Ferbers (3L), Lauren Martin (3L), Jordan Wagner (3L), Kassandra Taverner (3L) and Carly Lafond (3L).

We were delighted to come across Skylar Ferbers and Lauren Martin's article from the University of Manitoba, L . Kerry Vickar Business Law Clinic  on the Manitoba students who participated in this year’s 2024 CAN-TECH Fall Conference - Exploring New Frontiers in Technology and Law in Toronto. In the article, Skylar and Lauren capture the students' drive and enthusiasm, shining a light on their innovative contributions and insightful perspectives on the future of technology law in Canada.

This year’s conference offered a platform for these young professionals to network with industry leaders, learn about the latest advancements, and gain firsthand experience in a rapidly evolving field. It’s inspiring to see how Manitoba’s next generation is already making strides, as Skylar and Lauren beautifully details in their article.

We invite our readers to explore the full article here for an in-depth look at the students’ experiences and achievements.

Thank you, Skylar and Lauren, for such a well-crafted and inspiring article.

https://www.cantechlaw.ca/cantechawards

The 2024 CAN-TECH Fall Conference Awards was a fantastic event, honoring two exceptional individuals in the field of technology law. Andrew Nunes received the CAN-TECH Award of Distinction, and Shreya Gupta was recognized with the CAN-TECH Rising Star in Tech Law Award, at the CAN-TECH Fall Conference Dinner, presented by Andrew Alleyne, CAN-TECH Law President.

The Annual Fall Conference Dinner provided the perfect setting to honor these outstanding individuals. We offer our congratulations to Andrew Nunes and Shreya Gupta and extend our gratitude to all the attendees who made this event a success. Your presence added depth to the celebration of excellence in technology law, and we look forward to future gatherings.

           

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