Good morning! This is Queen Street Analytics' weekly roundup of regulatory developments, legislative discussions, political announcements and other government-related news concerning ICT, cloud computing, digital infrastructure, social media platforms, digital privacy, AI, cybersecurity, blockchain, and Web3. Every Monday, we break down the most important updates in this space in under five minutes.

Want to track other GR news in adjacent industries? Don’t miss this week’s updates in Finance.

Dates: 2025-08-10 to 2025-08-16

📋 In This Week's Newsletter

• 🇨🇦 Canadian Federal GR News
• 🇺🇸 US Federal GR News
• 🗺️ Canadian Provincial GR News
• 📚 What We're Reading This Week

Canadian Federal GR News

Government of Canada Launches Cyber Security Cooperation Program 2025

On August 14, Minister Gary Anandasangaree announced the opening of applications for the 2025 Cyber Security Cooperation Program (CSCP) under Public Safety Canada. The initiative, tied to the National Cyber Security Strategy, offers up to $10.3 million over five years for cyber security innovation, knowledge sharing, and capacity building. The program supports grassroots and institutional efforts toward securing Canadian cyberspace, building on the previous CSCP calls. Eligible organizations can submit proposals aligned to priority areas, with terms and conditions available on the official CSCP page.

Sources: Announcements: www.canada.ca

Federal Investment Targets Ontario Electricity Grid Modernization

On August 15, Minister Timothy Hodgson announced over $13 million in funding for five Ontario electricity grid modernization projects through the Energy Innovation Program (EIP) – Smart Grids Demonstration Call. Recipients include Alectra Utilities Corporation, which receives $6 million for transforming its distribution grid and $149,645 for international collaboration under Mission Innovation. HIAH Corp. was granted $3.16 million for deploying distributed energy resources in rural areas, while Peak Power Inc. secured $3.145 million for emissions-reducing DER management platforms. Enova Power Corp. received $750,000 to operate an AI-based load forecasting and optimization market at the grid level, aimed at resolving capacity constraints and deferring infrastructure investments. These projects introduce AI and advanced technology into grid operations, incentivizing market participation and distributed resource optimization.

Sources: Announcements: www.canada.ca

Saskatchewan Businesses Receive Federal AI Innovation Funding

Prairies Economic Development Canada announced on August 11 that $1,311,900 has been allocated to three Saskatchewan businesses to accelerate AI adoption. Funding under the Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative (RAII) supports Ground Truth Agriculture Inc. ($586,900) for commercializing AI-driven grain grading systems, Greenwave Innovations Inc. ($425,000) for enhancing its energy monitoring platform with AI-powered maintenance and leak detection, and Offstreet Technology Inc. ($300,000) for scaling up cloud-based parking registration services. The RAII supports interest-free repayable and non-repayable investments, aiming to expedite the commercialization and deployment of AI technologies in agricultural, energy, and digital platform sectors.

Sources: Announcements: www.canada.ca

CRTC Posts New Regulatory Decisions and Notices

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), per procedures outlined in Part 1 of its Rules of Practice and Procedure, released original, detailed regulatory documents for public review this week. Documents, including decisions, notices, and orders, are available at CRTC offices and through its website by proceeding. These updates concern ongoing and future public proceedings that may impact regulatory compliance for broadcasting and telecommunications sectors.

Sources: Gazette, Part I: www.gazette.gc.ca

US Federal GR News

White House Details Major Investment Initiatives in Technology and Infrastructure

The White House published an article on August 15 enumerating new corporate and international investments in US technology, manufacturing, and infrastructure since President Trump’s second term began. Apple committed $600 billion to US manufacturing and workforce training. SoftBank, OpenAI, and Oracle are collaborating on a $500 billion AI infrastructure project. NVIDIA pledged $500 billion to domestic AI supercomputers, while Micron Technology announced $200 billion for memory chip production. IBM set aside $150 billion for growth and manufacturing; TSMC is investing $100 billion in US chip manufacturing. Pharmaceutical and biotech firms declared multi-billion dollar commitments to research and production. Amazon, Google, and Blackstone listed cloud infrastructure investments.

Sources: White House Announcements: www.whitehouse.gov

IEEE Initiates and Updates Technology Standards Activities

On June 24, 2025, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) filed notifications of standard development updates with the US Department of Justice. This week, 57 new standards have been initiated and 20 existing standards are undergoing revisions, informing upcoming technology compliance and interoperability developments. Stakeholders can view further details at the IEEE Standards Board Approval webpages, and new pre-standards activities within IEEE Industry Connections have also been launched.

Sources: U.S. Federal Announcements: www.federalregister.gov

FCC Solicits Comments on Telecommunications Act Provisions for Local Competition

On August 11, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requested public and agency comment on its information collection supporting local competition provisions under the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The review, under the Paperwork Reduction Act, concerns regulatory and notification requirements for incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs), including interconnection, unbundling, and wholesale pricing.

Sources: U.S. Federal Announcements: www.federalregister.gov

Justice Department Registers Defense and ICT Consortium Membership Changes

On August 14, the US Department of Justice published updates on Defense Industrial Based Consortium (DIBC) membership, reflecting new entrants from firms specializing in AI, quantum computing, microelectronics, and advanced materials. Recently added members include Illinois Quantum And Microelectronics Park LLC, American Battery Materials, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory, among others.

Sources: U.S. Federal Announcements: www.federalregister.gov

TM Forum Updates Global Telecom Membership

TM Forum, the global telecom standards organization, filed its latest membership changes on July 17. New participants from Canada include UNRYO (Laval, Quebec) and Gaiia Software (Quebec), in addition to Databricks (San Francisco) and VIAVI Solutions (Chandler, AZ) in the US. Several firms from Europe and Asia also joined, while others withdrew or changed names.

Sources: U.S. Federal Announcements: www.federalregister.gov

Canadian Provincial GR News

Quebec Launches Call for Projects: Digital Adaptation Assistance Program for Press Enterprises

On August 13, Quebec's Ministry of Culture and Communications launched a call for applications for its Digital Adaptation Assistance Program, open to written information press enterprises and associated organizations through September 25. The program supports digital transformation diagnostics and project implementation, newly allowing non-profit enterprises to apply.

Sources: Provincial Announcement: www.quebec.ca

British Columbia Deploys Digital Screening Tool for Mental Health Emergencies

BC's Nelson Police and provincial authorities launched HealthIM, a digital screening tool supporting officer response to individuals in mental health or substance-use crises. HealthIM integrates clinical assessment, risk analysis, and crisis management data sharing between police and healthcare teams.

Sources: Provincial Announcement: news.gov.bc.ca

Ontario Doubles Fire Protection Grant for Safety Upgrades and Battery Incident Response

Ontario opened applications for its Fire Protection Grant on August 13, increasing annual funding to $20 million for municipal departments to expand cancer prevention, lithium-ion battery fire incident response, and infrastructure modernization, including broadband connectivity.

Sources: Provincial Announcement: news.ontario.ca

What We're Reading This Week

• Unknown hackers target MPs and parliamentary staff in cyberattack: Media report details recent cyberattack incidents targeting Canada’s federal government staff.
• 12 billion cyberattacks recorded in Canada this year, security firm says: News coverage of volume and scale of cyberattacks recorded nationally in 2025.
• Notorious cybercrime group’s ‘critical infrastructure’ dismantled by ICE, Canada, other countries: Reporting on international law enforcement action against ransomware infrastructure.
• U.S. State Department targets Online News Act in human rights report: US report critiques Canada’s Online News Act in a new international context.

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