Rum’s role in early Canada uncorked in new account

Programmers, computer scientists and software, mechanical, data and prompt engineers — these are some of the professions behind the creation of artificial intelligence. Should theologians and faith leaders also be involved?

Meghan Sullivan, a Roman Catholic who teaches philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, says yes. That’s why she was glad to attend a meeting in March at the invitation of Anthropic, the creator of Claude AI, about the role religion can play in the creation of this life-changing technology.

Sullivan, who also directs the university’s Institute for Ethics and the Common Good, was there with 15 other Christian philosophers, theologians and leaders to discuss the implications of AI for society today — and how it can be taught to behave ethically and morally using religion as a guide.

I spoke with Sullivan this week about that meeting. “I’m very grateful for Anthropic’s leadership in this area with faith communities,” she said, noting that most AI companies are not doing that. “It should have happened sooner, but better late than never.”

MONTREAL - Higher electricity prices may not discourage companies from building new data centres as demand for power continues to grow, a consultant hired by Hydro-Québec told the province's energy regulator on Friday.

The comments came as the first phase of hearings into the utility's proposal to nearly double electricity rates for large data centres wrapped up in Montreal, with lawyers representing Google and an environmental coalition questioning consultants about their study of electricity markets across North America.

Hydro-Québec is asking the province's energy regulator, the Régie de l'énergie, to approve a new rate averaging 13 cents per kilowatt hour for data centres requiring more than five megawatts of power, nearly double the average 6.82 cents currently paid by major industrial electricity users.

The utility has said the increased rate for data centres is not meant to slow down growth, but rather to ensure residential customers don't wind up seeing rate hikes to compensate for discounts offered to the rapidly growing industrial sector.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on Ottawa to sue Stelco's American owner as part of a five-point plan aimed at protecting Canada's struggling steel industry.

Poilievre was in Burlington, Ont. on Friday, speaking at a site overlooking Stelco's operations across Hamilton Harbour. The steelmaker began issuing layoff notices this week after announcing plans to lay off up to 500 workers at its Hamilton and Lake Erie facilities.

He said the lawsuit should seek to bring back workers and restart idled operations at Stelco, or force its sale to a Canadian owner willing to resume production.

"The only thing that we would accept is these workers getting their paycheques, making Canadian steel to build our country," Poilievre said.

Investing in adult vaccines

Last week, provincial and territorial health ministers held an emergency meeting on the looming expiration of federal health funding and the financial pressures facing health systems across the country.

As they gather again in Winnipeg later this month, there is a critical piece missing from the conversation — prevention.

Canada has a strong public-health tradition, but its gains cannot be taken for granted. In 2021, Canada reported zero measles cases. By 2025, more than 5,400 cases had been reported, costing Canada its measles elimination status and Manitoba saw this firsthand.

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: I just ran into my former husband with his new woman. It was a shock. She looked nothing like me — not nearly as good. In fact, she’s the opposite of me — red-haired, freckled, tall and skinny like a rake. I’m short, dark, with golden skin from my Italian background. That was what my husband used to say he loved in a woman.

Does that mean he lied — that he really didn’t like my looks and secretly longed for the opposite? That seems crazy to me. But I should mention that in our last miserable years together he didn’t even want to hold me in his arms and look at me. He sometimes slept at his office (or so he said) because he was “too tired to drive home.”

He could have been elsewhere — like in some other woman’s home — because he always used his cellphone to call me, not his office line.

How can I forget about the man I loved so much and finally move on?