Q&A: B.C. public safety minister talks lawful access, online harms following Tumbler Ridge tragedy

B.C. Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger has been front-and-centre in her government’s response to the Tumbler Ridge shooting, which left nine people dead and shook the small community in eastern B.C. last month. In the following days, Krieger and the rest of Canada learned the U.S. tech company OpenAI had flagged troubling behaviour from the eventual shooter ahead of time, but decided against notifying law enforcement. During a trip to the nation’s capital, Krieger spoke with The Wire Report on March 26 about how Tumbler Ridge has demonstrated governments need to introduce mandatory reporting regulations for all artificial intelligence (AI) companies, as well as Ottawa’s approach to lawful access and combatting online harms. You’ve just arrived in Ottawa. What have you been up to so far? We had a busy morning of meetings with Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, Mike Duheme, the commissioner of the RCMP, as well as Erin O’Gorman, president of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). Recently, Minister Anandasangaree tabled Bill C-22 on lawful access, which gives law enforcement additional authorities to access peoples’ data. You have been supportive of the bill, and I’m wondering if it came up during your meetings? We did not discuss lawful access specifically today, but I joined Minister Anandasangaree on a recent trip to Vancouver where I spoke about B.C.’s support for Bill C-22 and the importance of police having updated tools to investigate crimes that require access to information that has previously had a hurdle or delay. So, lawful access measures are so key to give law enforcement the tools they need to protect community members, and that includes disrupting crimes like extortion, which we've seen in B.C., child sexual exploitation, and investigating other serious threats. Some critics of Bill C-22 have offered privacy concerns and suggested this bill doesn’t appropriately strike the balance between protecting peoples’ identities and aiding law enforcement. Do you have any privacy concerns with this bill? No, and I think Minister Anandasangree made it clear this is really about striking that important balance between access to information that can support police in their investigations. It’s really basic information. For instance, yes or no, is somebody a client of a particular phone service? This does not give information on social media activities or content that would infringe on peoples’ privacy. So, I think that balance between access to information to support public safety and privacy is key, and the refinements made in Bill C-22, which refines the work done on Bill C-2, strike that balance in an appropriate way. Minister Anandasangaree has also been involved in the federal government’s response to the role OpenAI and artificial intelligence chatbots played in the leadup to the tragedy in Tumbler Ridge, B.C. Has that been a focus of your trip? Certainly combatting online harms is a priority for my ministry, but it’s also a real priority for our province’s attorney general and B.C. Premier David Eby, who had a meeting with the CEO of OpenAI. I think we’ve been keen to really press on a reporting standard and a regulatory threshold for reporting to police, and urging responsiveness to law enforcement for access to records, particularly in exigent circumstances. The online space and the potential access to harmful information and the potential for radicalization to violence is a very real public safety concern for all levels of government and for society, more broadly. We’re keen to support the efforts of the federal government because this is primarily their domain, but we see an interest working to counter online harms. We know the federal government is working on online harms legislation. Given your province has been impacted so recently by this issue, is there anything specific you’re hoping to see included? I think that a regulatory threshold for reporting to the police is important. That reporting standard is key and I think that’s where there were concerns, in the case of Tumbler Ridge, that there was potentially a missed opportunity to report to police, but it’s very challenging to speculate. What could have been, had OpenAI reported to police, is a very painful question for families, victims and the community to grapple with. As governments, we need to do our part in advancing legislation, regulation or policy that ensures access to information and privacy, while also protecting people, and particularly young people, from harm. In the aftermath of Tumbler Ridge, OpenAI said they would raise their internal protocols, but you’d like to see federal legislation include a standardized threshold for reporting to police. Do I have that correct? Yes, I think it would be helpful for that to be consistent across all platforms. Is there anything I’ve missed or anything else you’d like to emphasize about your trip? I think the conversations we had with the minister, RCMP commissioner, and CBSA president were very constructive and really built on a strong relationship and strong communication that we have. Whether it’s online harms, combatting extortion, or working on border security, we need to work together in partnership, and that’s exactly what we’re doing to keep our communities safe. dlegree@hilltimes.com Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q&A: B.C. public safety minister talks lawful access, online harms following Tumbler Ridge tragedy

Regulatory |
By Davis Legree
|March 27, 2026

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Q&A: B.C. public safety minister talks lawful access, online harms following Tumbler Ridge tragedy

Regulatory | By Davis Legree |March 27, 2026

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|March 27, 2026