AI for All? Balancing Innovation, Sovereignty, and Trust

Mark Schaan is the Associate Deputy Minister at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), confirmed in October 2025, which builds on the direction from the Prime Minister on July of 2025 that he act as the direct Deputy support to the Minister of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Innovation. In these capacities, Mark supports Canada’s industrial AI and digital agenda, working to position the country as a global leader in the responsible development and use of these technologies.

Mark’s career has been highlighted by this cross-cutting policy and framework effort, including leading major consultations and reforms, including for telecommunications, investment review, intellectual property, bankruptcy and insolvency, privacy and AI. Mark’s public service career has included roles across the policy spectrum, as well as leading on revitalizing the public service through innovative recruitment models.

Mark earned his BA (Honours) from the University of Waterloo, where he studied as a Loran Scholar. Mark earned his MPhil in Comparative Social Policy, conferred in 2004, and his DPhil in Social Policy, conferred in 2010 from the University of Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar. Mark is also actively involved in his communities.

Mr. Billot is CEO of Scale Ai, Canada’s artificial intelligence Supercluster dedicated to building the next generation supply chain and boosting industry performance by leveraging Ai technologies. He is also an adjunct professor of HEC Montreal and the Montreal lead for two transformational programs aiming to launch and grow startups in Artificial Intelligence leveraging Montreal tech and business ecosystem, NextAI and the CreativeDestructionLab (CDL).

He also serves as a director in various companies and non-profit organizations. He has extensive experience in the marketing, media and mobile industries, with a track record of successfully executing print to digital business transformations.

Until recently, Julien Billot has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Yellow Pages Group Corporation in Montreal, Quebec. Previously, he was Executive Vice President, Head of Media and Member of the Executive Committee of Solocal Group (formerly PagesJaunes Groupe), the publicly traded and incumbent local search business in France. Earlier experience includes serving as CEO of the digital and new business group of Lagardère Active, a multimedia branch of Lagardère Group and 13 years in senior management positions at France Telecom, notably as Chief Marketing Officer for Orange, the company’s mobile subsidiary.

Mr. Billot is serving today as a Board Member at the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, is Chairman of a Montreal based company Jogogo Media and a Board member for DistrictM and a French media group, Groupe Paris Turf.  

Mr. Billot is a graduate of École Polytechnique (Paris) and from Telecom Paris Tech. He holds a postgraduate diploma (DEA) in Industrial Economics from the University of Paris-Dauphine.

Mélissa M’Raidi-Kechichian (they/them) is an expert in AI policy, frameworks, and regulation currently serving as a Research and Advocacy Fellow at the Center for AI and Digital Policy. Mélissa focuses on AI ethics and governance and has previously worked in civic technology and digital identity. Over the past 5 years, their research focused on AI policy framework development and implementation, the ethics of algorithmic recommendations, and AI regulation in democratic and authoritarian States

Wyatt Tessari L’Allié is the founder and executive director of AI Governance and Safety Canada, a nonpartisan not-for-profit and a community of people across the country, working to ensure that advanced AI is safe and beneficial for all. A former engineer, filmmaker, and climate advocate, he has spent the last 10 years researching and writing about advanced AI. He has testified seven times at parliamentary committees in Ottawa, and is the author of multiple policy papers on what Canada can do to navigate accelerating AI.