Concerns have been rising nationwide as governments start to bring in smart technologies to manage services

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

Since the Canadian government launched the Smart Cities Challenge in 2017, buzz around Smart Cities in Canada—as well as the smart cities themselves—has been growing. The Smart Cities Challenge was a competition open to all municipalities, local or regional governments, and Indigenous communities (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) across Canada.

This challenge was created to empower communities across the country to address local issues their residents face through new partnerships, using a smart cities approach. A smart cities approach means achieving meaningful outcomes for residents through the use of data and connected technology. The approach could be adopted by any community, big or small.

Over the last few years, over 225 municipalities across the country applied to become smart cities, using: information technology systems to improve urban planning, public transportation, smart waste management, and overall, citizens’ lives.

To help local governments get a clearer picture of how best to keep innovating their digital services, in September 2023, Capterra surveyed over 1,000 Canadian residents of cities with a population of at least 100,000 to find out what citizens expect from and how they engage with smart city services.

Although the list of Smart Cities Challenge applicants includes big cities such as: Toronto, Montréal, Calgary, and more, not all Canadians are up to date on their smart city knowledge. When asked about their knowledge of this concept, only 20% of respondents say they know exactly what a smart city is. A quarter (25%) say they are aware of the concept but didn’t have a name for it, while a similar number of respondents (24%) say they had heard the name but didn’t know what it means.

In April 2019, a survey found that 88 per cent of Canadians are concerned on some level about their privacy when it comes to smart cities. Almost a quarter said they were “extremely concerned.”

Researchers at McMaster University and the University of Ottawa conducted the survey, polling 1,011 Canadians across the country from different demographic subgroups. One thing that wasn’t surprising is that visible minority people and Indigenous people objected more strongly to the use of their personal information by police to prevent crime than did the average Canadian. So that’s not surprising. Forty-two percent of visible minority and Indigenous people versus 32 generally who objected entirely to the use of their personal information by police and crime prevention.

On December 30^th, 2023, Dr Lesly Lewis released a statement titled, “The Truth about Smart Cities; Privacy and Autonomy Concerns.”

In the statement, she shares that she has received emails from so many Canadians regarding the expansion of smart city technologies in Canadian communities, and their potential impact on our way of life, and our democratic society. Concerns have been rising nationwide as governments start to bring in smart technologies to manage services.

“This has been an issue that I have tracked for years, and there are a lot of layers of concerns when it comes to implementing these smart cities. I have researched this issue and spoken to academics, civil liberties experts, and municipal councilors, and they all agree that: privacy, autonomy, and security must be protected as part of any infrastructure development involving smart technology.”

Dr Lewis decided to put together a video to explain what smart cities are, why they are being promoted, what’s happening here in Canada, and some of the concerns raised by fellow Canadians. In this video, she digs into the concerns around privacy and autonomy and where all of this could lead.

“We must understand the implications of these technologies before we are so far down the road that we’re unable to turn back.”

While smart cities offer numerous benefits, it’s essential to address challenges such as: data privacy, cybersecurity, and inclusivity to ensure that the benefits are shared equitably among all citizens. Thank you, Dr Lewis, for bringing clarity, and addressing the needs of the people.