British Columbia Attorney General Niki Sharma is calling for changes to Canada’s Criminal Code after a new report detailed alleged interactions between the Tumbler Ridge school shooter and ChatGPT before the February 2026 tragedy.
The report, published by Mother Jones, describes alleged conversations in which the shooter reportedly sought information about violent scenarios and found ways to bypass safeguards designed to prevent the generation of harmful content. The report has not publicly identified its sources, and OpenAI has not immediately responded to requests for comment on its claims.
Sharma said the reported details were deeply concerning and renewed her call for stronger rules governing artificial intelligence companies and online platforms, particularly when credible threats of serious violence are involved.
The attorney general said she has written to federal ministers with policy proposals aimed at amending the Criminal Code of Canada to create a pathway for human accountability when criminal actions can appropriately be traced to the operation or misuse of AI services.
The B.C. government has already taken legal action against OpenAI, filing a lawsuit in California over what it describes as the company’s failure to notify law enforcement about threats made on its platform before the Tumbler Ridge shooting.
The February 10 attack at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School killed eight people, including an educator and five children, and wounded 27 others, according to the B.C. government.
OpenAI has faced separate lawsuits from families of victims and members of the Tumbler Ridge community in the United States. The province has said its legal proceedings are separate from those cases and will proceed independently.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has said its investigation used available legal processes to obtain relevant information from social media and digital platforms. An RCMP spokesperson said companies that received requests had complied.
The debate has placed renewed attention on how governments should regulate AI systems that may be used to generate or obtain information connected to violent acts. It also raises questions about when technology companies should be required to alert authorities about credible threats while balancing privacy, free expression and other legal considerations.
For B.C. officials, the latest report adds urgency to efforts to strengthen safeguards around AI and online platforms. Sharma has argued that Canadian laws need to keep pace with rapidly developing technology and provide clearer mechanisms for accountability when serious public-safety concerns arise.
The province’s push for Criminal Code reform comes as the legal and policy response to the Tumbler Ridge tragedy continues, with victims’ families, the provincial government and technology companies facing an ongoing debate over responsibility, prevention and public safety.
Swifteradio.com
