Following the explosive revelations in the Wall Street Journal , the federal Minister of AI and Digital Innovation, Evan Solomon, raised his voice. He directly challenged OpenAI for its lack of proactivity after the shooter responsible for the Tumbler Ridge massacre used ChatGPT to simulate her actions.

An internal report that went unheeded

According to the American media investigation, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar had interacted with the artificial intelligence for several days, describing explicit scenarios of armed violence .

Although these exchanges were spotted by OpenAI moderators, management reportedly refused to alert Canadian authorities , despite the insistence of some employees. A few months later, on February 10, the young woman went on the offensive:

1. Human toll: 6 dead and 25 injured at a high school in British Columbia.
2. Family tragedy: His mother and half-brother were also murdered before the school attack.
3. Outcome: The suspect was found dead at the scene of the crime.

The Solomon government's response

The minister said he was "deeply troubled" by what he called a major security breach. In a statement released on Saturday, he reiterated that the protection of citizens cannot be left solely to the discretion of technology companies.

“Canadians expect platforms like OpenAI to have rigorous reporting protocols so that law enforcement is alerted in the event of an imminent risk of violence.” — Evan Solomon

Towards stricter regulations?

The government is currently examining several levers to compel AI giants to be more transparent. While no specific details were provided, the minister emphasized that "all options are on the table" to ensure that public safety is built in by default into AI systems deployed in Canada.