The B.C. government has announced its upcoming strategy to tackle gun violence tied to organized crime, including rules that have been in the works for nearly a decade.
The new regulations, which come into force on Oct. 1, are a bid to shut down what officials have described as gaps in federal laws that have led to a rise in extortion crimes.
The legislation will enforce a ban on discharging firearms from vehicles, a measure aimed at addressing rising extortion incidents in the province involving shootings at homes and businesses from vehicles.
Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger announced the new rules at the legislature in Victoria on April 27 alongside Attorney General Niki Sharma.
Krieger said the new regulations will help law enforcement crack down on such offences, noting that the regulations are meant to address “loopholes that are exploited by organized [criminals] and specifically by extortionists causing harm in our communities.”
Sharma said police fighting gun crimes currently rely primarily on the Criminal Code and the federal Firearms Act, but said both come with limitations.
“Those laws are essential, but they come with high evidentiary thresholds, and do not always allow for swift intervention at the street level,” she said.
The new regulations also make it an offence to drive a vehicle while illegally transporting a firearm that is not properly registered or authorized by federal law.
Sharma said this eliminates a frequently employed defence used by extortionists, who have been testing the “limits of accountability” in a number of ways, including using rental cars or cars owned by family and friends to transport firearms.
When weapons are discovered by the police, the assailants often “claim that they didn’t know that they were there, or that the firearms belonged to somebody else,” Sharma said.
The act will also require the secure storage of imitation and low-velocity firearms while driving, and prohibits their sale to anyone younger than 18. This includes BB, pellet, or airsoft guns, and lighters designed to look like firearms.
Gangs frequently use these types of guns to “normalize weapons use among young people,” Krieger said. There have been multiple instances in recent years during which police responded to calls of individuals wielding guns only to discover the so-called weapons were lighters.
The legislation was formulated based on a 2017 task force report regarding illegal firearms, well before the extortion-related crimes became an epidemic, and was passed in 2021.
Krieger said the legislation has been some time in the making because it “took really extensive consultations” over the past five years to find the right balance between “uninterrupted, safe access” for law-abiding gun owners and criminals.
“I’d like to be clear that this legislation is not about law-abiding firearm owners,” Krieger said. “It was developed through years of consultations and includes clear exemptions for lawful activities, like hunting, sports shooting and training, film production, and professional use by law enforcement and wildlife officials.”
The six-month period prior to the act coming into force will give the government, police, affected stakeholder groups, and law-abiding firearm owners the time they need to prepare for its implementation, the press release said.
Surrey, B.C., has found itself at the centre of a growing trend of extortion crimes, which have largely affected the South Asian community.
Data from Surrey police shows there have been 91 reported incidents this year, with 16 involving gunfire, compared to last year’s 133 reported incidents, where gunfire was involved in 49 cases.
The British Columbia Extortion Task Force was put in place last fall to investigate the extortion-related crimes. Surrey police are also involved in investigating the incidents and have opened more than 45 extortion cases in 2026 alone. The city force has also implemented Project Assurance, a patrol program to monitor neighbourhoods that have been affected by extortion-related violence.
