OpenAI agrees to strengthen safeguards following B.C. mass shooting: minister

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This article was published 04/03/2026 (210 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Federal Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon says the CEO of OpenAI has agreed to take several actions to bolster safety, including providing a report outlining the new systems the firm is developing to identify high-risk offenders and policy violators.

A statement from Solomon following his meeting Wednesday with Sam Altman says the minister will also ask the Canadian AI Safety Institute to examine the company’s model and provide expert technical advice to his office.

The meeting follows the revelation that OpenAI banned the mass shooter in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., from using its ChatGPT chatbot last June due to worrisome interactions but did not alert law enforcement before the killings last month.

OpenAI has said new protocols would have resulted in Jesse Van Rootselaar’s interactions being flagged to police, but Solomon says the tragedy “demands answers and stronger safeguards when powerful AI technologies are involved.”

Solomon says the actions Altman has agreed to take include establishing a direct point of contact with RCMP and implementing safety protocols that direct people “experiencing distress” to appropriate local services.

The minister says Altman also confirmed the company would apply its new safety standards retroactively and review previously flagged cases.

“This will determine whether additional incidents that would have been referred to law enforcement under OpenAI’s new safety standards were missed, and ensure they are promptly reported to the RCMP,” Solomon’s statement says.

It says the company has also committed to assessing how they would include Canadian privacy, mental health and law enforcement experts into the process to identify and review high-risk cases involving Canadian users of OpenAI technology.

Van Rootselaar fatally shot eight people in Tumbler Ridge on Feb. 10, including six children, before killing herself.

Solomon had appeared on CBC’s “Power and Politics” earlier Wednesday, saying he told Altman the people of Tumbler Ridge deserve an apology for the tech firm’s role in events leading up to the mass shooting.

Solomon said he told Altman that he “absolutely” supports the apology request from B.C. Premier David Eby, who is set to meet the CEO on Thursday.

B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma said Eby would meet Altman to find out whether the company could have prevented the shootings.

Sharma said there is a larger question for Ottawa when it comes to regulating and overseeing platforms like OpenAI.

The Altman meetings come after B.C.’s chief coroner, Dr. Jatinder Baidwan, on Tuesday announced an inquest into the shootings that will consider the role of artificial intelligence.

Sharma said she hopes OpenAI will participate in the inquest and share whatever it knows.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2026.