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B.C. Premier David Eby emerged from a meeting with OpenAI’s CEO on Thursday afternoon to tell the media that the company has agreed to make a public apology for the role ChatGPT played in the Tumbler Ridge tragedy.
On Feb. 10, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar shot and killed her mother and 11-year-old stepbrother before heading to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and opening fire, killing three 12-year-old girls, a 12-year-old boy, a 13-year-old boy, and an educational assistant.
It was later revealed through reporting by the Wall Street Journal that employees of OpenAI had raised concerns about the shooter’s activity on ChatGPT in June 2025, including alleged queries on mass shootings. Van Rootselaar’s account was banned, but the company did not report her activities and it was later discovered she had a second account.
On Thursday, Eby said American tech billionaire Sam Altman seemed to understand the gravity of the situation but doesn’t want to speak on his behalf, preferring to have him address victims’ families himself.
“Everybody on the call recognized that an apology is nowhere near sufficient, but also that it is completely necessary,” said the premier, who was joined on the phone with Altman by Tumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka.
“The mayor of Tumbler Ridge is going to work with OpenAI to make sure that any public statements relating to that are done in a way that is appropriate and meaningful as much as possible and doesn’t re-traumatize people in the community.”
Eby and Krakowka’s call with Altman comes a day after the CEO met with federal AI Minister Evan Solomon and reportedly agreed to allow Canadian experts into OpenAI’s offices and make a number of safety changes.
Eby said that is not far enough and wants to see Ottawa work with tech companies to come up with a minimum reporting standard for AI chatbots.
“It’s not acceptable that there are inconsistent standards between companies. It’s not acceptable that it’s up to the companies about whether or not to report. That needs to change,” said Eby.
Conservative MLA Larry Neufeld, who represents Tumbler Ridge as part of the riding of Peace River South, said he is concerned that the focus is being too heavily concentrated on the role of AI.
He said a coroner’s inquest called earlier this week isn’t sufficient and wants to see a full-blown public inquiry to get to the bottom of how the tragedy occurred.
“I’m left with concerns that the root cause of the issue is not being focused on. And I believe very clearly that the complete and utter failure of the mental health system in this province has allowed two mass casualty events to happen in this province in 12 months,” said Neufeld.
“Was AI an important component to look at? Yes, it is. Should that be the one that’s being put at the forefront of focus? I believe not.”