Government, authorities step up efforts to tackle extortion in Peel Region

Political leaders and law enforcement officials gathered in Brampton on Tuesday for a summit to address the rise of extortion crimes.

The federal government says it will be investing up to $1 million to tackle extortion targeting both individuals and businesses in Peel, as part of a coordinated effort to address this growing issue in the region.

Canada’s Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree made the announcement following an anti-extortion summit in Brampton on Tuesday.

Peel Region has been hit especially hard by extortion, with police in Caledon and Dufferin County reporting they’ve investigated more than 45 instances since December 2023.

Brampton Mayor Patrick has also spoken out about an escalation of extortion threats targeting members of the South Asian business community in the city.

Police also say the threats, which come in the form of phone calls, text messages and even posts on social media platforms, are primarily affecting directed at members of the South Asian community.

Just last week, a business in Caledon was shot at for the second time in two weeks in a suspected extortion attempt.

Earlier this month, multiple shots were fired at a home in Brampton, while a man, his wife and small child were inside. That incident was captured on video by someone believed to be working with the shooter and sent to the homeowner the next day with a demand for $500,000.

‘We have to stop extortion’

Anandasangaree called these crimes “cowardly (acts) meant to insert fear in individuals.”

“All of us here today agree that we have to stop extortion and deal with the bad actors. … Investing in extortion is difficult work, work that requires significant resources,” he said, adding in some cases suspects are taking direction from gangs in India.

The new federal funding will be directed to Peel Regional Police to combat extortion, support and provide services to victims, and build on efforts already underway through by its 30-member Extortion Investigation Task Force, Anandasangaree said.

“This task force provides rapid community level response while leveraging intelligence from federal partners, including the Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA),” he said.

Anandasangaree added this money is in addition to a federal investment of more than $4 million over four years through Canada’s border plan, which will see the establishment of a new regional integrated drug enforcement team,in partnership with the government of Ontario and local authorities.

“These are concrete and coordinated actions that will help protect communities, including Peel Region, from organized crime,” he said, urging anyone who falls victim to extortion to not comply with the demands that are made of them, but instead contact police or Crime Stoppers anonymously.

Tuesday’s anti-extortion summit, he added, concluded with a pledge from those in attendance to “continue working together to disrupt organized crime networks and protect businesses and residents across Peel Region and bring perpetrators to justice.”

“To those affected by threats of extortion, please know that you’re not alone. All levels of government as well as law enforcement, the people here before you today, want to help you,” he said.

‘Very real issue’

Peel Regional Police (PRP) Chief Nishan Duraiappah said extortion is a “very real issue” across his region and affects not only the individuals that are the victims of it but also their families and neighbourhoods and even the broader community.

“What has made Peel Region such a vibrant, beautiful place to be has also allowed for certain elements to exploit vulnerabilities,” he said.

“For the victims, it’s not just about money. It’s fear in their homes. It silences people, isolates them, and makes them feel like they’re facing these threats alone. That is completely unacceptable.”

Duraiappah said extortions that happen locally are often the result of “transnational criminal networks operating across borders,” which he said exploit global communication platforms and move finances and money internationally.

He added that they also take advantage of the vulnerabilities facing Peel Region’s south Asian community, namely geospatial insecurity, economic pressures, and the diaspora and the connection to these community, causing even further harm.

“What’s happening here is driven by global issues, geographic issues that are not constrained by the four walls of Peel Region. This means our response will be not just community oriented, but globally informed, working closely with, as the minister said, victims, those that are affected, community leaders, partners, originally, nationally and internationally, to disrupt these networks and protect those being targeted,” the police chief said.

“We are committed to holding those offenders accountable, supporting victims and ensuring that fear does not infiltrate our communities.”

Brampton MP gets weekly calls by people affected

Brampton North MP Ruby Sahota said she receives calls weekly from people who are being extorted or facing the threat of it.

“I know firsthand the fear and disruption that extortion-related crimes create in our community. These crimes are not theoretical. They are real, they are targeted, and their impacts on people’s lives and livelihoods can be devastating,” said Sahota, who serves as Canada’s secretary of state for combatting crime.

“For people in Peel, it’s not a matter of if, it’s become a matter of when.”

Sahota reiterated that all levels of government are “taking strong, coordinated action … to protect communities and support those who have been targeted by extortion.”

“This is a serious threat, and it is being met with serious with a serious response,” she said, noting the RCMP as well as CBSA are also both heavily involved in addressing this crime.

“The bottom line is this, no individual and no business should ever face extortion, threats, or intimidation.”

Ontario’s Solicitor General Michael Kerzner said he travelled through the province this summer visiting several border crossings, where he saw the outcome of governments working together to keep people safe.

“We will be imaginative, we will be innovative, and we will make sure that a person’s inherent right to live safely in their own homes and communities is upheld and fulfilled every single day,” he said, noting since June of 2018 his government has given PRP more than $160 million “to make sure that they have the resources they require to combat crime.”

Kerzner went on to say that extortion creates more crime as the proceeds of it “exacerbate crime.”

A similar summit, involving all levels of government and police, was held in late November in Surrey, B.C., which has also seen rising instances of extortion-related shootings and violence also directed at both families and businesses, especially those from the South Asian community. In this case, the feds committed more than $1 million to addressing the issue.

With files from CTV News Toronto’s John Musselman