By The Canadian Press

Solomon tells OpenAI CEO Sam Altman that Tumbler Ridge deserves apology

Mar 4, 2026 | 3:15 PM

Federal Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon says he met with the CEO of OpenAI and told him the people of Tumbler Ridge, B.C., deserve an apology for the tech firm’s role in events leading up to the mass shooting there last month.

Solomon, speaking on CBC’s Power and Politics, says he told Sam Altman that he “absolutely” supports the apology request from British Columbia Premier David Eby, who is scheduled to meet Altman on Thursday.

Solomon says he told Altman on Wednesday’s Zoom meeting that there’s a need for “rigorous safety protocols” on OpenAI’s technology.

Tumbler Ridge shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar was banned by OpenAI from using its ChatGPT chatbot last June due to worrisome interactions, but the firm did not alert law enforcement before the shootings last month.

OpenAI has said that new protocols would have resulted in Van Rootselaar’s interactions being flagged to police, but Solomon says he wants to know the nature of the protocols, and how they determine what represents an imminent threat.

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B.C.’s Attorney General Niki Sharma says Eby will meet Altman to find out whether the company could have prevented the shootings.

Sharma says there is a larger question for Ottawa when it comes to regulating and overseeing platforms like Open AI.

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

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

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

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

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press