On February 10, 2026, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar killed her mother and half-brother at their Tumbler Ridge home, then walked to the local secondary school and killed five students and an educator before dying of a self-inflicted injury. It was one of the worst mass shootings in Canadian history — and it happened on David Eby’s watch, in a small BC resource town where his government is supposed to be responsible for public safety.

Today, seven weeks later, the families of the victims filed lawsuits in California against OpenAI. The reason they’re suing in the United States? Canada’s damage caps make a BC lawsuit largely meaningless — compensation for pain and suffering is capped at roughly $470,000. The American justice system offers what the Canadian one cannot.

That detail alone is worth sitting with.

What OpenAI Knew

According to court documents shared by law firm Rice Parsons Leoni & Elliott, the shooter’s ChatGPT account had been banned for "disturbing content" that allegedly included planning violent scenarios. Twelve OpenAI employees internally urged the company to notify Canadian law enforcement. OpenAI did not act on those recommendations.

Eby himself acknowledged the obvious: "This shooting could have potentially been prevented if OpenAI warned authorities earlier."

He’s right. And so the question is: after making that statement, what did his government do?

“I’ll be reaching out to Manitoba with an eagerness to see how they’ll be implementing such a ban, and we will take more action if needed.”

— BC Attorney General Niki Sharma, April 28, 2026

That’s it. That’s the plan. Study what Manitoba does. Maybe act later. Sharma also wrote letters to federal ministers asking Ottawa to fold protections for youth into its online harms legislation. Seven weeks after the worst school shooting in BC history, the province is waiting for permission from the federal government and studying another province’s homework.

The Failure of Leadership

BC has no provincial law requiring AI companies or social media platforms to report credible, specific threats of violence to Canadian law enforcement. No such bill has been introduced. No such framework has been proposed. The NDP government that just tabled Bill-9 to reduce government accountability to the public has found no urgency to increase accountability from Silicon Valley to BC families.

While Sharma studies Manitoba, that province’s NDP Premier Wab Kinew is actually moving legislation. BC’s NDP is watching. This is the pattern: a tragedy strikes, statements are made, and then nothing happens until another province leads the way. BC followed Ottawa on decriminalization, followed Ottawa on housing mandates, and now it will follow Winnipeg on youth digital safety.

The Tumbler Ridge Timeline — Key Facts

  • Feb 10, 2026: Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, kills 7 people at home and at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School
  • Shooter’s ChatGPT account had been banned for content that included planning violent scenarios
  • 12 OpenAI employees urged internal leadership to notify Canadian law enforcement — company declined
  • OpenAI CEO Sam Altman issued apology letter to community (week of April 21)
  • April 29, 2026: Families file seven lawsuits in California against OpenAI
  • Families suing in the U.S. because BC’s pain-and-suffering cap is ~$470,000
  • BC Attorney General Niki Sharma: writing letters to federal ministers, waiting on Manitoba

The Bitter Irony

BC’s NDP government is currently advancing Bill-9, legislation that weakens citizens’ ability to access government records and makes it harder to hold this government accountable. At the same time, it has produced no legislation to compel AI companies to protect BC citizens from foreseeable, preventable violence.

The province that moves fastest to shield itself from scrutiny moves slowest to shield its children from harm.

The mother of a seriously injured survivor, Cia Edmonds, rejected Altman’s apology letter as “empty, soulless, and lacking any human warmth.” She questioned whether Altman used ChatGPT to write it. Twelve OpenAI employees tried to do the right thing and were overruled. Seven people are dead. Families are suing in a foreign jurisdiction because their own province can’t deliver justice. And BC’s government is watching Manitoba.

At some point, watching isn’t leadership. It’s negligence.