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Canada’s National AI Strategy: Mila Welcomes an Ambitious Vision Propelling Canada Toward Scientific and Technological Leadership

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MONTRÉAL, June 4, 2026 /CNW/ – Mila – Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute enthusiastically welcomes the government of Canada’s newly unveiled national artificial intelligence (AI) strategy: “AI for All.” Built around six comprehensive pillars including protecting Canadians, safeguarding technological sovereignty, building international alliances, and scaling Canadian champions, this roadmap establishes a decisive framework for Canada’s technological future that reflects the vision Mila has championed since its inception.

As one of the world’s largest and most renowned academic AI research centers, Mila views the new strategy as a critical, high-stakes turning point that secures Canada’s global competitive edge.

“This strategy reflects the core values Mila has always championed: driving scientific excellence, propelling impactful innovations, ensuring the safety and responsible deployment of AI, and attending to the cultural and linguistic relevance of the technology,” says Valérie Pisano, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mila. “Canada has a world-class AI ecosystem and the foundations needed to lead. At this pivotal moment, we must deploy this vision with an acute sense of urgency. This new strategy allows us to anchor in our core strengths while building technology that reflects our values and serves our collective interests. By staying true to who we are, we can build a prosperous future that asserts Canada’s place as a global leader in this new era for AI.”

Canada’s new national AI strategy marks a structural evolution in the country’s innovation ecosystem, elevating frontier capabilities to critical national assets. The strategy explicitly highlights domestic champions like Cohere and LawZero, the safe-by-design AI organization founded by Yoshua Bengio and incubated at Mila. In doing so, it underscores Canada’s position as one of the few nations with the domestic capacity to build and scale world-leading commercial solutions.

The government’s strategic expansion of the Canada CIFAR AI Chairs program, alongside dedicated funding for Founders-in-Residence initiatives, public-interest open-source projects, Indigenous-led AI and large-scale AI literacy programs, provides a powerful blueprint for national success.

Via these initiatives, the strategy highlights several of Mila’s flagship projects as national models for impact, including the First Languages AI Reality program for Indigenous leadership. In alignment with the strategy’s emphasis on developing tools adapted to Canada’s diverse, multicultural society, Mila is also advancing Quebec French language AI and multilingual evaluation through its new partnership with Cohere. Furthermore, Canada’s commitment to public-interest AI and open-source technology directly aligns with Mila’s recent partnerships with Mozilla and Robust Open Online Safety Tools (ROOST), which advance inclusive AI development and youth online safety to help ensure AI benefits for everyone. At the same time, the strategy’s focus on capital scaling mirrors initiatives like Mila’s Venture Scientist Fund, created alongside Inovia Capital to bridge research with investment, accelerate commercialization, and turn lab-born AI into global companies.

“Seeing AI research play such a central role in Canada’s renewed AI strategy is excellent news,” adds Hugo Larochelle, Scientific Director of Mila. “The expansion of the Canada CIFAR AI Chairs program strengthens the cornerstone of our scientific ecosystem. By connecting this research backbone to high-impact projects that deliver significant public good, as well as initiatives like the Canadian AI Safety Institute and our own AI Safety Studio, Canada is ensuring it can guide AI development responsibly and on our own terms.”

Looking ahead, Mila will leverage this momentum to deepen its collaboration with trusted global allies. By working hand-in-hand with international partners, governments, industry, and the other national AI institutes, Amii and the Vector Institute, Mila is prepared to implement this national vision with the urgency the moment demands, ensuring AI builds shared prosperity that works for all Canadians.

About Mila – Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute
Founded by Professor Yoshua Bengio, Mila – Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute is the world’s largest academic AI research center specialized in deep learning, home to a community over 1500 strong. Based in Montreal, Mila was created out of a unique partnership between Université de Montréal and McGill University, dedicated to advancing scientific breakthroughs that drive innovation and ensure AI benefits everyone. A non-profit organization, Mila is strongly supported by the Government of Canada through the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy and by the Government of Quebec. Internationally recognized for its influential research, global innovation partnerships, and leadership in multilateral efforts on responsible AI, Mila continues to shape the future of AI worldwide. For more information, visit mila.quebec.

SOURCE Mila – Quebec AI Institute

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Chapters Health System Named as a 2026 Top Workplace for Nursing

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National Recognition from Nurse.com and Energage Highlights Exceptional Employee Experience

TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla., June 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Chapters Health System, the nation’s leading chronic illness innovator and largest nonprofit hospice provider, has been awarded the Top Workplaces for Nursing 2026 honor by Nurse.com in recognition of its commitment to creating an outstanding workplace culture that supports and empowers nurses. The Top Workplaces for Nursing is a national employer recognition award developed by Energage, the HR technology company behind the program, and Nurse.com, a community where more than 3 million nurses connect.

“As an organization driven by the mission of taking care of patients, or taking care of those who do®, this national recognition demonstrates our success in ensuring that Chapters Health is the premier organization for nurses to build and grow their career,” said Andrew Molosky, President and CEO at Chapters Health System. “As we continue to innovate across the healthcare industry, it is critical that we remain focused on being an organization where nurses are supported and have the opportunity to help shape the future of healthcare for years to come.”

Organizations were honored based solely on employee feedback gathered through the confidential Energage Workplace Survey. The survey measured the overall employee experience, including whether nurses feel respected and supported, enabled to grow their careers, and empowered to provide quality care. Winners scored significantly higher in key indicators of nurse engagement and satisfaction, and overall employee experience, when benchmarked against their peers using Energage’s national data.

“This honor reflects the collaboration and commitment of thousands of team members across the country who have dedicated themselves to building a culture of appreciation, growth, and opportunity that enables nurses to thrive in a wide variety of roles throughout our organization,” said Rhonda White, President of Hospice and PACE at Chapters Health System. “This foundation and the connection to our service-driven values creates an environment where nurses are empowered to make a difference for thousands of patients and families each day.”

To learn more about career opportunities in nursing at Chapters Health System and the opportunity to change the future of healthcare, click here.

About Chapters Health System
Chapters Health System is boldly innovating the future of chronic illness care through its collective portfolio of more than 30 different companies and programs, including the nation’s largest nonprofit hospice network, PACE, value-based care such as CareNu, managed services organizations, technology solutions, advanced illness offerings, consulting, and more. Established in 1983 as a community-centered, nonprofit entity, Chapters Health has grown exponentially through its radical approach to healthcare that leverages a one-of-a-kind system to support patients, families, and caregivers across the country, while remaining grounded in the mission of taking care of patients, or taking care of those who do®. Chapters Health has been nationally recognized by Great Places to Work, Fortune®, USA Today, and others for being a top place to work. To learn more, visit www.chaptershealth.org, like us on Facebook or follow us on X and LinkedIn.

About Energage
Energage is a purpose-driven company that helps organizations turn employee feedback into useful business intelligence and credible employer recognition through Top Workplaces. Built on 18 years of culture research and the results from 27 million employees surveyed across more than 70,000 organizations, Energage delivers the most accurate competitive benchmark available. With access to a unique combination of patented analytic tools and expert guidance, Energage customers lead the competition with an engaged workforce and an opportunity to gain recognition for their people-first approach to culture. For more information or to nominate your organization, visit energage.com or topworkplaces.com.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chapters-health-system-named-as-a-2026-top-workplace-for-nursing-302791862.html

SOURCE Chapters Health System

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Production is Changed Forever — Now What?

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Colby2: Full AI Commercial for BlockStrong including VO, Music, Picture

ATLANTA, June 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A new cinematic brand TV spot from Atlanta-based production company Colby2 compresses decades into seconds—following a young couple as they move into their first home, raise children, grow older, and ultimately gather with generations of family beneath the same roof. Even the family dog ages alongside them, turning the home itself into a symbol of permanence, memory, and resilience.

What makes the project unusual is not simply the emotional storytelling, but the production process behind it.

The entire commercial was created through a directed AI production workflow—marking the first fully AI-produced commercial in more than 30 years of filmmaking for director Steve Colby.

Rather than relying on traditional production methods—casting multiple age-specific actors, coordinating complex shoots, and building numerous sets—the film was crafted using AI-generated visuals, music, and voiceover, guided by a cinematic directing process designed to preserve emotional continuity and creative intent.

“This wasn’t about replacing production—it was about making possible a story that otherwise would have been financially or practically out of reach,” said Colby. “We were able to tell a decades-long story with a level of continuity and scale that would have been extremely difficult through conventional production.”

For Colby, who has spent decades working alongside crews he considers close friends, the shift was both creatively exciting and personally complicated.

“I’d still rather be on set with a crew, solving problems together through a long day in the trenches,” Colby said. “There is a human energy and camaraderie to traditional production that AI can’t replace. But we are a service business, and our responsibility is to provide the best possible solution for the client. In this case, AI was the right tool.”

The AI-driven workflow also changed the creative process itself.

Executive Producer Tina Colby states “In traditional production, you’re often locked into decisions made weeks earlier – your schedule, locations, and budget, with AI, if something sparked creatively, we could explore it immediately without adding another shoot day or dramatically increasing costs.”

That flexibility allowed the team to expand scenes, refine emotional moments, and explore multiple storytelling directions in real time.

But the veteran filmmaker, Colby is also candid about the anxiety many filmmakers feel toward emerging AI tools—an anxiety he says he shares himself.

“Anyone who has spent a life in this business understands the fear surrounding these tools,” he said. “I understand it because I feel it too. But pretending this technology isn’t here, or trying to fight against its existence, isn’t realistic. Nothing in human history that has been invented has ever been un-invented.”

Rather than resisting the shift entirely, he believes the industry must learn how to adapt while preserving the humanity that gives filmmaking its emotional power.

“My hope is that AI becomes a tool that helps filmmakers more than it displaces them,” he said. “Technology can generate images, but it still takes human experience, taste, empathy, and storytelling instinct to create something meaningful.”

While the approach significantly reduced production cost and complexity, the focus remained firmly on the story itself—delivering an emotionally resonant piece centered on the idea that the structures we build are designed to last for generations.

For Colby, the project represents more than a single commercial. It reflects a broader turning point for the creative industry.

“The truth is, AI is going to change this industry as much as anything ever has,” said Colby. “The challenge now is figuring out how we keep the humanity in the work while embracing the tools that are clearly here to stay.”

To learn more, please visit https://www.colby2.com/.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/production-is-changed-forever–now-what-302791383.html

SOURCE Colby2

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Tech-Access Canada Welcomes Canada’s AI Strategy and Focus on Helping Businesses Adopt AI

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OTTAWA, ON, June 4, 2026 /CNW/ – Tech-Access Canada welcomes the Government of Canada’s new national artificial intelligence strategy, AI for All, and its focus on helping Canadian businesses, workers, and students harness the benefits of AI to strengthen productivity, competitiveness, and economic growth.

Canada has earned a global reputation for excellence in artificial intelligence research. The next challenge is ensuring that businesses across all sectors of the economy have the support they need to adopt and apply AI technologies in practical ways that improve operations, create new opportunities, and enhance competitiveness.

The strategy’s emphasis on AI adoption among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), workforce development, and hands-on learning opportunities for students reflects areas where Canada’s colleges, cégeps, and Technology Access Centres (TACs) are already making a meaningful contribution.

Across Canada, Technology Access Centres help thousands of businesses each year evaluate, test, validate, and implement emerging technologies. In the AI space, TACs have supported companies across sectors such as manufacturing, forestry, energy, agriculture, and environmental services in applying artificial intelligence to real-world challenges, including predictive maintenance, process optimization, quality control, resource management, and operational decision-making.

Examples include helping manufacturers improve production efficiency through AI-enabled process optimization and supporting natural resource companies with advanced analytics and machine learning tools that improve monitoring, forecasting, and operational performance.

The strategy’s commitment to AI literacy, skills development, and student work-integrated learning opportunities is also particularly encouraging. Every year, Technology Access Centres provide over 2,000 students with hands-on experience working alongside Canadian companies on applied R&D and technology adoption projects, helping them develop the practical skills needed to succeed in an increasingly AI-enabled economy.

“Canada has been a global leader in AI research for decades. The next challenge is helping more Canadian businesses, workers, and students put AI to work solving real-world problems,” said Ken Doyle, Executive Director of Tech-Access Canada.

“We are encouraged to see the strategy’s strong emphasis on the adoption of AI, workforce development, and ensuring that the benefits of AI reach businesses and communities across the country. Technology Access Centres have long operated at the intersection of innovation, talent development, and industry collaboration, helping SMEs adopt emerging technologies while providing students with valuable hands-on experience. As Canada works to increase AI adoption across the economy, colleges, cégeps, and their Technology Access Centres are well positioned to help translate that ambition into practical outcomes.”

An independent evaluation of the federal College and Community Innovation Program recently concluded that Technology Access Centres contribute to measurable increases in revenue and employment among the small businesses they support, while providing students with applied learning opportunities that improve career outcomes.

Tech-Access Canada looks forward to working with governments, industry partners, post-secondary institutions, and innovation organizations across the country to help ensure the successful implementation of Canada’s AI strategy and the broad adoption of AI technologies that strengthen Canadian productivity and prosperity.

About Tech-Access Canada

Tech-Access Canada is the national network of 70 Technology Access Centres located at colleges and cégeps across the country. Together, they provide Canadian companies with access to objective applied R&D expertise, specialized equipment, prototyping, technology validation, and innovation support. Each year, the network works with more than 6,000 businesses and organizations, helping accelerate innovation, commercialisation, and technology adoption.

SOURCE Tech-Access Canada

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