Reports of extortion have climbed more than 500 per cent between 2012 and 2024, making it one of the fastest-growing crimes in Canada.
In some parts of the country, like Peel Region, it’s even worse as the South Asian community has been particularly targeted.
While hundreds of charges have been laid in the past few years, police say they don’t have all the tools they need to catch those behind these crimes.
One of the biggest hurdles police face solving these extortion crimes, aside from non-reporting and victim fear, is access to information.
“Lawful access to digital information is as important as forensics is,” said Peel police Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich.
While forensic evidence can be collected immediately, digital fingerprints, and who they belong to, can take well over a month for investigators to get access to. And that can create a big problem for police, especially when it only takes seconds to send a threatening text.
“Last year, we had over 400 total extortions, but, included in that, were roughly 190 that were oriented towards our business community. And so that on its own represents roughly 25 to 30 more than the year prior,” shared Milinovich.
Extortion has become such a problem in Peel that police created a specialized task force.
“It represents one of our largest investigative units in actuality … and since the inception of the Extortion Task Force, we’ve laid hundreds and hundreds of charges related to extortions.”
While these crimes can end in gunfire and violence, they often start with threats online.
When pursuing a suspect, police can request a judicial production order to compel phone and internet companies to share subscriber and, sometimes, usage information, but it takes time.
“Right now in Canada, the average time that it takes for us to get the information is 20 days. In some cases, 40 to 45 days. It’s too long,” said Milinovich. “The longer we wait, the more risk there is we’re going to lose evidence or lose the opportunity to identify a person responsible for a crime.”
A federal bill, Bill C-2 also known as the Strong Borders Act, would make it easier to get basic subscriber information without going to a judge. It had its first reading in June of 2025.
The bill would compel companies to turn over information in as little as 24 hours.
In a statement, the Canadian Telecommunications Association cautions that these requests are not always a simple lookup of business records.
“The time required can vary significantly depending on the identifier provided and the complexity of the search. Requiring responses in as little as 24 hours is not practical and would treat all demands the same, regardless of urgency. A more workable approach would allow response times that reflect the priority and complexity of the request,” read their statement.
A spokesperson for one telecommunications company says it responded to 13,000 production orders of all kinds last year alone.
The bill is not yet law and watchdogs have raised concerns about how it impacts privacy rights.
Still, Milinovich said it’s necessary to give police the tools to track suspects before they create more victims.
“If our law is not keeping up pace with our technology, we are starting a race that we’ve given somebody else, i.e., in this case, the extortionists, the criminal organisations, transnational crime groups, we’re giving them a head start on us.
Reports of extortion have climbed more than 500 per cent between 2012 and 2024, making it one of the fastest-growing crimes in Canada. In some parts of the country, like Peel Region, it’s even worse as the South Asian community has been particularly targeted. While hundreds of charges have been laid in the past few Local
Reports of extortion have climbed more than 500 per cent between 2012 and 2024, making it one of the fastest-growing crimes in Canada.
In some parts of the country, like Peel Region, it’s even worse as the South Asian community has been particularly targeted.
While hundreds of charges have been laid in the past few years, police say they don’t have all the tools they need to catch those behind these crimes.
One of the biggest hurdles police face solving these extortion crimes, aside from non-reporting and victim fear, is access to information.
“Lawful access to digital information is as important as forensics is,” said Peel police Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich.
While forensic evidence can be collected immediately, digital fingerprints, and who they belong to, can take well over a month for investigators to get access to. And that can create a big problem for police, especially when it only takes seconds to send a threatening text.
“Last year, we had over 400 total extortions, but, included in that, were roughly 190 that were oriented towards our business community. And so that on its own represents roughly 25 to 30 more than the year prior,” shared Milinovich.
Extortion has become such a problem in Peel that police created a specialized task force.
“It represents one of our largest investigative units in actuality … and since the inception of the Extortion Task Force, we’ve laid hundreds and hundreds of charges related to extortions.”
While these crimes can end in gunfire and violence, they often start with threats online.
When pursuing a suspect, police can request a judicial production order to compel phone and internet companies to share subscriber and, sometimes, usage information, but it takes time.
“Right now in Canada, the average time that it takes for us to get the information is 20 days. In some cases, 40 to 45 days. It’s too long,” said Milinovich. “The longer we wait, the more risk there is we’re going to lose evidence or lose the opportunity to identify a person responsible for a crime.”
A federal bill, Bill C-2 also known as the Strong Borders Act, would make it easier to get basic subscriber information without going to a judge. It had its first reading in June of 2025.
The bill would compel companies to turn over information in as little as 24 hours.
In a statement, the Canadian Telecommunications Association cautions that these requests are not always a simple lookup of business records.
“The time required can vary significantly depending on the identifier provided and the complexity of the search. Requiring responses in as little as 24 hours is not practical and would treat all demands the same, regardless of urgency. A more workable approach would allow response times that reflect the priority and complexity of the request,” read their statement.
A spokesperson for one telecommunications company says it responded to 13,000 production orders of all kinds last year alone.
The bill is not yet law and watchdogs have raised concerns about how it impacts privacy rights.
Still, Milinovich said it’s necessary to give police the tools to track suspects before they create more victims.
“If our law is not keeping up pace with our technology, we are starting a race that we’ve given somebody else, i.e., in this case, the extortionists, the criminal organisations, transnational crime groups, we’re giving them a head start on us.