B.C. anti-extortion chief apologizes for disputing ‘crisis’ after Eby issues warning

By Canadian Press on January 21, 2026.

The head of British Columbia’s anti-extortion task force is apologizing after being told by British Columbia Premier David Eby to step aside unless he demonstrates a “sense of urgency.”

RCMP Assistant Commissioner John Brewer says he did not mean to call into question the force’s commitment to the task when he challenged using the term “crisis” to characterize a wave of extortion-related shootings.

He says he was trying to reassure the public in an update on the task force’s work on Tuesday, but instead he “impacted public confidence.”

Brewer had repeatedly declined to call the shootings a crisis at a news conference, prompting Eby to say Wednesday that Brewer needed to clarify himself or step aside.

Eby said Brewer’s remarks “cut at public confidence in the head of the task force’s work.”

Brewer says in his apology that the task force’s commitment to the extortion threats and violence “has not wavered” and extortions are one of the RCMP’s highest priorities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 21, 2026.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press