Eby blames OpenAI for new Tumbler Ridge lawsuits, says it walked away from mediation

British Columbia Premier David Eby says new lawsuits against OpenAI from witnesses to the deadly Tumbler Ridge mass shooting are a result of the tech firm walking away from a mediation process, calling it inexcusable and disgraceful.

Eby, who was speaking at an unrelated event in Prince George, B.C., on Thursday says the plaintiffs in 30 new lawsuits that were announced this week have the provincial government's full support and the province intends to join the litigation, so long as it doesn't interfere with the families' ability to access justice.

He says the U.S. artificial intelligence firm's "negligence" in not reporting to police the troubling online behaviour of the shooter who killed eight victims, six of them at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, created a disaster "the likes of which we haven't seen in British Columbia." 

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The company had banned Jesse Van Rootselaar's account on its ChatGPT platform, but "nothing else was done," says Vancouver-based law firm Rice Parson Leoni and Elliott, which is involved in the new litigation in California.

The firm says the plaintiffs including pupils and staff of the school "were eyewitnesses to gun violence, murder and emergency life-saving efforts rarely seen outside of a theatre of war."

Eby is calling on the CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, "to be good to his word" and make right the situation so plaintiffs don't have to relive the horrors "that OpenAI was involved in and materially contributed to."

"It underlines why these companies cannot be trusted," Eby said of the failure of mediation. "They can't be trusted to regulate themselves, they can't be trusted in what they say." 

He said it was up to governments to use lawsuits or regulations to protect children, "whether it's Meta or OpenAI."

Claims against OpenAI have not been tested in court.

In a social media post this week, Jason Kwon, OpenAI's chief strategy officer, said the company was approaching litigation related to Tumbler Ridge "with respect for both the legal process and the families and victims" and would "continue to engage in good faith."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 3, 2026.

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