Canadian city drafts AI rules as employees already use it

The city of Granby in Canada already uses artificial intelligence for some administrative tasks. At the same time, the city is working on a formal policy for how AI may be used in the municipality. This is according to an article from the local outlet The Pulse of the Eastern Townships, which is based on the city's written responses.

What does the city use today?

Granby uses Microsoft Copilot through the Microsoft licenses the city already has. The city also uses the tool Decisions to create meeting minutes and summaries of meetings.

Help from researchers

Granby is developing the policy together with IVADO. It is an interdisciplinary consortium, meaning a collaboration between several institutions, for AI research, education and knowledge sharing. It is led by Université de Montréal.

The partnership is meant to help the city explore and adopt AI in a controlled way. This happens through specialized legal advice, training and strategic guidance. IVADO does not charge Granby any fees or charges. Instead, the city contributes staff time and the preparation of reports.

The policy is not yet finished, and no timeline has been given for when it will be ready.

Low risk and human responsibility

Granby is looking at low-risk uses: first drafts of texts, summaries, meeting minutes and cutting down on repetitive administrative tasks.

The article mentions inaccurate answers, bias and hallucinations as risks. A hallucination is when an AI makes up something that sounds right but is not accurate.

According to the city's written responses, the AI tools are meant to support employees' work, and the results must be checked before they are used. The employee remains responsible for the content they use.

Can others benefit from it?

In time, the partnership could produce knowledge or tools that other municipalities can use. However, that depends on rules on confidentiality, personal data and intellectual property rights.

For comparison, the article notes that Bromont adopted an AI policy in February 2026. The Eastern Townships School Board was in August 2026 in the process of developing an AI framework with four principles.