B.C. mayor urges Ottawa to appoint national extortion commissioner to combat violence

The mayor of Surrey is calling for national oversight of the police response to extortions in B.C. after a Mountie's controversial comments.

The mayor of Surrey, B.C., is calling on the federal government to take action to combat the wave of extortion-related violence that is targeting the South Asian community in her city and others across the country.

Brenda Locke says in a statement that only a “full-scale national initiative” led by Ottawa will quell the violence that has only escalated since late November, when federal, provincial and municipal leaders met in Surrey for a trilateral commission on the issue.

There have been about three dozen reported extortion attempts in Surrey in the first three weeks of January, with eight of those attempts involving gunfire directed at homes and businesses.

“This is unlike anything Surrey has faced before,” Locke said in a statement Wednesday.

“Residents and business owners are living in constant fear, and our communities cannot wait any longer.”

Laws are ‘too weak’

The Surrey mayor says she has written a letter to Gary Anandasangaree, asking the federal public safety minister to appoint a national extortion commissioner to identify causes and solutions to the problem.

“This role should have the authority to examine the obvious gaps in our criminal, immigration, and citizenship systems and lead a national response that actually stops these crimes from happening,” Locke said.

“Our laws are simply too weak. Canadian law enforcement tools are not enough to protect the public from the magnitude of extortion and violence we are experiencing.”

A spokesperson for the public safety minister says the federal government is committed to “ensuring that those who threaten Canadian families and businesses are held accountable.”

“Extortion is a serious crime that can never be tolerated,” wrote Simon Lafortune, press secretary for the minister’s office, in an email to CTV News.

“The federal government is supporting active investigations, pursuing criminal charges when warranted, and seeking and executing removal orders against foreign nationals found inadmissible for criminality or non‑compliance.”

The mayor’s comments followed an update from the RCMP on Tuesday, in which Assistant Commissioner John Brewer said police are “actively hunting” extortion suspects in B.C., Alberta and Ontario.

The update was delivered four months after the B.C. Extortion Task Force was created to tackle the issue.

Brewer said police are working with the Canada Border Services Agency, which is currently reviewing the admissibility of more than 100 foreign nationals in Canada related to extortion investigations.

“Making a refugee claim does not exempt lawbreakers from the consequences of their actions,” he told a news conference.

Nine of those people investigated by the border agency have been deported while seven other suspects have been criminally charged, he said.

RELATED STORIES:

• Trade minister calls for expanded engagement with India ahead of Carney’s visit
• B.C. Extortion Task Force says 111 foreign nationals ‘may be inadmissible,’ 9 already deported
• Shooting appears to mark 35th extortion incident in Surrey, B.C., this month