Earlier this year, four twenty-something students and former students from Western University were arrested and charged with unlawful possession of explosives (among other charges). A YouTube video then surfaced from before the arrests, which appears to show some of these folks openly “pitching” their military technology startup. They told the internet that they were developing a “novel electronic warfare system in response to requirements set out by the Canadian Armed Forces and NATO military demand” and that they had their “own chemical lab on site.”
Whatever their motives turn out to be, this story draws attention to a bigger problem. The nature of warfare has radically changed. Drones and AI are the new tanks and warships. There are young engineers and entrepreneurs out there who want to contribute. The problem is that they often lack the resources to navigate the legal challenges. The consequences of error can be lifechanging … and even land them in jail.
Some of these folks may be so green that they don’t even realize there are legal challenges to navigate. Someone who openly tells YouTube about an “onsite chemical lab” and ends up charged with unlawful possession of explosives may conceivably fall into this category.
Young people in these situations may have good intentions, but it turns out (perhaps not surprisingly) that building weapons systems in your proverbial (or actual) “basement” can land you in serious hot water. If you’re a young engineer who wants to build, but you don’t have the resources to navigate the legal challenges, then what do you do? Even with the best intentions, staying on the right side of the law can be difficult … and expensive.
As a criminal defence lawyer who worked at a defence technology startup before I was called to the bar, I take a personal interest in this problem. The company I worked at developed AI with military applications. We were told that it could take six figures and over a year of delay to get regulatory approval.
That would have halted or demoralized many startups. Using my background in law, I took the lead on this project, and we were able to get it done in a matter of months while spending little more than printing costs. Not everyone has that luxury.
This case can hopefully spark a national conversation about how to help young innovators navigate the legal and regulatory maze. Existing incubators and grant programs can help, but they can be difficult to access, and they can require founders to give up equity and control.
Ontario now offers a helpline for companies in this sector. This is a step in the right direction, but given the complexity of the issues involved, a proper legal clinic to assist deserving startups might be a welcome next step, and in time, comprehensive law reform may be needed to harmonize and modernize our legislative patchwork. This could set the stage for a defence innovation ecosystem that will benefit our economy and our national security for decades to come.
“Criminal offences were committed, regardless of the intent” said Superintendent Sean Travis of the London Police Service following the arrests. Of course, all of these people are still presumed innocent. We don’t yet know what happened.
But whatever happens in this case, it points to a bigger problem. The face of warfare is changing irreversibly, just as the geopolitical ground moves beneath us. There are young engineers and entrepreneurs out there who would rise to the challenge. Let’s do what we can to help them out … and keep them out of jail.
