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Premier David Eby says what he is hearing from community and business leaders in Surrey, B.C., who have been hard hit by extortion crimes, is not the same thing he is hearing from police.
“I have been very concerned about inconsistent communications between the [provincial extortion] task force and the Surrey Police Service to the community,” he said at a news conference on Tuesday following a meeting with members of Surrey’s business community.
Eby says communication over the response to a wave of extortion crime, where suspects threaten residents or businesses with violence in exchange for money, has left people in Surrey confused over whether police are properly responding to the crimes and able to protect them.
“That is not acceptable,” said Eby.
Puneet Sandhar, vice president of the South Asian Business Association of B.C., says two years of relentless violence has left people wondering if it’s safe to leave their homes, drive their cars or host their child’s birthday party.
“It’s beyond frustration. It’s beyond fear. It’s actually very handicapping right now,” Sandhar said.
New advisory committee promised
On Tuesday, Eby announced that that the province would form an advisory committee to work with police to identify gaps and improve communication between all parties, investigators, patrollers and residents.
The premier also announced a shakeup of the Surrey police board.
Four board members appointed by the province will be replaced by board members selected by both the Surrey mayor and public safety minister.
B.C. Premier David Eby speaks about the ongoing extortion crisis after meeting with Surrey business leaders.
Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke said in a statement the new board appointments will reflect “the community and their public safety priorities.”
She also welcomed the advisory committee.
“It’s crucial we amplify the voices of residents and business owners who have been victimized by extortion and violence for far too long.”
Eby said he was worried that residents were becoming disenchanted with the police response as he heard stories of people calling in information but not getting calls back or police not showing up to investigate.
Police have maintained they are addressing the public safety issue with results, even as cases skyrocket in 2026 in Surrey.
RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Vanessa Munn said that while information sharing is active behind the scenes, the force recognizes that what it’s share with the public has been “limited.”
“Our priority has been to try and balance public updates and the need to protect the investigative integrity of ongoing operations.” she said.
Munn said the task force welcomes working with the community advisory group.
Premier David Eby has a blunt message for the police leaders working to crack down on extortion: Ramp up the arrests and share more information with the community. As CBC’s Katie DeRosa reports, his words come with an announcement of a new community advisory group.
Surrey Police Chief Norm Lipinski said in a statement he supports Eby’s call for new mechanisms to address the crisis.
“It is imperative that the community’s voices are heard to help inform our police response,” he said.
“Residents and business owners are asking difficult questions of police, and those questions are both valid and necessary.”
Fear and frustration are building over a perceived lack of progress in the extortion file among the South Asian community in Surrey, B.C. Despite a dedicated task force and beefed up policing announced last year, extortion cases have not slowed down and many are worried they might be increasing. There have been at least 34 cases of extortion in Surrey in January so far.
The premier says he wants to see more of what has occurred since Sunday when patrolling officers arrested three young men who allegedly shot at a south Surrey home and lit a fire outside. Police believe the crimes are extortion-related.
All three are foreign nationals, according to police.
Demonstrators held a rally in Surrey on Monday urging authorities to do more to fight the extortion crisis. As Sohrab Sandhu reports, the rally comes as three young men, all foreign nationals, were charged after an overnight weekend shooting in Surrey. Since the start of the year, there’s been an average of one extortion attack reported per day.
“We want more of what we saw in the last 36 hours,” he said
“Somebody calls in, there was a shooting at a house, there was a fire, police are there within minutes, they’re able to track individuals and arrest them immediately. This is what people have expected from the beginning.”
However, Eby says he wants police to “root out the leaders of these operations, not just the foot soldiers.”
The B.C. premier also called on the federal government to push through two bills to amend Canada’s criminal code and immigration laws so that local law enforcement could better respond to extortion crimes.
He said the changes could help police allow the sharing of names and photos of suspects arrested under immigration laws and close loop holes allowing a foreign national arrested to claim refugee status.
“It’s probably the number one thing that needs to happen right now,” he said about federal law reform.
The Canada Border Services Agency says it is investigating 111 foreign nationals with suspected links to extortion who may be in Canada illegally. So far, nine of those people have been deported.
As of Feb. 2, the Surrey Police Service says there have been 46 extortion attempts and 11 extortion-related shootings in the city since the beginning of the year. There’s also been one arson related to extortion, and 29 victims have been identified, the police service adds.
Police are “actively hunting” those who are extorting businesses and individuals in B.C., according to RCMP Assistant Commissioner John Brewer, who is urging residents not to take matters into their own hands. This request comes after yet another shooting in Surrey is believed to be linked to extortion. And as CBC’s Sohrab Sandhu reports, one target allegedly fired back at a suspect.
Surrey — B.C’s second largest city by population — had a total of 132 extortion attempts, 49 of them involving shootings, in 2025, according to police.
In January, Eby criticized the head of the RCMP’s anti-extortion task force for refusing to characterize a wave of extortion-related shootings in the Lower Mainland as a crisis.
Last week, the premier was in Ottawa for a first ministers meeting, where extortion was part of the conversation and additional RCMP officers were promised by the federal government in response to extortion in Surrey.
However, local politicians in Surrey have said that won’t be enough.
Gurbux Saini, Liberal MP for Surrey’s Fleetwood-Port Kells riding, said last week the city needs 200 more officers, while city councillor and mayoral candidate Linda Annis said it needs 300.
In a release the provincial Opposition said that Eby’s promise to improve communication comes far too late.
“They should have been listening from the very start,” said Conservative Interim Leader Trevor Halford. “Instead, they ignored dozens of cases, the repeated pleas from business owners, and the cries from communities who were warning that this crisis was escalating.”
Halford said more concrete actions are needed to stop extortion, interrupt organized crime and protect, “people who are living in fear.”
