The B.C. government is pursuing legal action against OpenAI over the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting tragedy, Attorney General Niki Sharma announced Tuesday. Sharma said officials have hired lawyers in both B.C. and California—where the artificial intelligence company is headquartered—in the hopes of securing support for the grief-stricken northern community. “We are prepared to take this fight to them,” she said during a news conference in downtown Vancouver. That support would include help with the building of a new school in Tumbler Ridge, to replace the one where the mass shooting—one of the deadliest in Canada’s history—took place back in February. “No family or community should have to endure this kind of grief, and we stand alongside the people of Tumbler Ridge as they mourn and move through the long process of healing,” Sharma said. “Accountability is also part of that process. When there are serious concerns that opportunities to prevent harm were missed, we as a government have the responsibility to act.” OpenAI has acknowledged that a ChatGPT account belonging to shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar was banned last year, and that the company considered notifying police about concerning interactions that violated its policies—but ultimately chose not to do so. CEO Sam Altman apologized for the company’s decision in a letter to the community in April. “I am deeply sorry that we did not alert law enforcement to the account that was banned,” Altman wrote. Eight innocent people, including five children between the ages of 11 and 13, were killed in the Feb. 10 shooting, and 27 others were injured. Several of the victims’ families are suing OpenAI in California as well, separate from the government. In a statement, B.C.’s Ministry of Attorney General said the province “supports the right of the families to pursue justice through the courts, and recognizes the courage they have shown in coming forward.” The two processes will continue in parallel using different legal avenues, officials said. The government’s local counsel was retained through CFM Lawyers in Vancouver, and the province will be represented by Jennings and Garvey in California. Sharma said B.C.’s legal efforts will seek to hold both the company and its “decision-makers” accountable. She noted the province has a record of fighting against what she described as harmful products or business practices, pointing to the government’s ongoing class-action lawsuits against opioid manufacturers. “We will use the courts to pursue accountability and ensure that British Columbians are not left bearing the costs of corporate wrongdoing,” Sharma said. A lawyer working with CFM in Vancouver said the province will be seeking damages for expenses, including the cost of building a new high school. “They’re hard costs, they’re out-of-pocket costs, and they’re different than the kind of damages that the victims can bring forward,” Reidar Mogerman explained. Ottawa recently tabled legislation to address online harms, including those from chatbots. Former B.C. Attorney General Ujjal Dosanjh said B.C. should take it further and look into bringing its own laws as well. “I would have brought in legislation to make reporting of such things mandatory to law enforcement in British Columbia, vis-à-vis our own jurisdiction,” he said. With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Robert Buffam
