Lawful access reforms and federal-local collaboration are essential to stop the spread before it engulfs every community

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As the mayor of Brampton, I’ve seen the extortion crisis hit our communities hard. Last month, I wrote an op-ed that detailed how Peel Region has become a major extortion hotspot, with over 41 incidents involving transnational networks like the Bishnoi gang that occurred between January 2024 and November 2025. These were not mere threats — they involved violence against families and businesses, including shootings and arsons that shattered lives and eroded public safety. I urged greater federal support then, specifically calling for representatives from the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to join local extortion task forces. Local police can’t afford to wait for responses from these agencies which are critical to their investigations.

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We need to be working on the ground together. This would improve intelligence sharing and help disrupt the cross-border money flows that fuel these crimes. Law enforcement in this country can’t operate in silos — federal, provincial, and municipal agencies must work together seamlessly to address these interconnected threats. Those steps are still essential, but today I want to highlight one critical tool that could make an immediate difference: the lawful........

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