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Federal support against extortion crimes in Peel Region is being welcomed by residents, especially after several targeted business owners have moved away out of fear, said the deputy mayor of Brampton.
“We’re seeing an exodus of business owners in the region of Peel and the city of Brampton who are scared for their safety,” said Deputy Mayor Harkirat Singh.
Among those affected by extortion crimes are long-time Brampton residents and businesses that are the “backbone” of the community, he said.
On Thursday, federal Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced dedicated financial intelligence experts who will support regions, such as Peel, to address extortion crimes targeting Canadian businesses and households.
“Behind every investigation is a person, a shop owner, a worker who depends on their job, a family that deserves to feel safe in their neighbourhood,” said Champagne.
“To those who have been targeted, I want to say you’re not alone. We stand with you, law enforcement stands with you and Canada stands with you.”
WATCH | Federal support announced Thursday to combat extortion crime:
Canadian intelligence experts to focus on extortion crime, federal minister says
Canadian financial intelligence experts to adopt a ‘follow the money’ strategy to combat extortion crime, federal Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said at a news conference Thursday. As CBC’s Tyler Cheese explains, the threats are affecting several communities in Ontario.
The country’s Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) will work closely with local law enforcement and prioritize receiving more timely and relevant financial intelligence to identify criminal networks and support investigations, Champagne said.
Singh and other community members say law enforcement is typically slow to investigate and address extortion crimes, but they’re hopeful that federal support and the “follow the money” tactic will “make a big dent” in cases.
“The crimes are happening very fast, but getting the evidence and gathering intelligence isn’t happening as fast as the crimes themselves,” said Singh.
He added that these crimes are especially “devastating” given how they impact entire families.
Solution ‘urgently needed’: psychiatrist
The fear of being targeted by extortionists has become a common concern among his clients recently, said Dr. Maher Hussain, a psychiatrist with the South Asian Canadians Health & Social Services.
Two of his clients moved out of Peel Region — one to the U.S. and another back to India — after they received harassing calls, he said.
“The police were also helping them, but they felt that help was not enough. They did not feel safe,” he said.
Hussain says he feels “some hope” with the new federal announcement, adding a solution is “urgently needed” to help residents feel safe.
There were a total of 476 extortion crimes reported in Peel Region in 2025 — a number that has gone up over the years, Peel police Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning Friday.
He said the most common extortion cases in the region fall under three categories: cases related to tow-truck violence, drug trafficking and those that target business owners.
The final category has caused a “tremendous amount of concern” in the community, especially as the number of cases have increased from 50 businesses impacted in 2023 to 153 in 2024 and 192 in 2025.
WATCH | Caledon mayor called for federal support to address extortion crimes last year:
Caledon’s mayor calls for feds to help combat extortion cases
As anxious victims demand answers, the mayor of Caledon, Ont., says the town doesn’t have enough resources to tackle the issue of international extortion and wants the federal government to step in. CBC’s Naama Weingarten explains.
This pattern is similar to the early trends in auto theft in the region, he said.
“I feel oftentimes that Peel can be the canary in the coal mine. We experience things first,” he said.
Right now criminals view extortion as “high reward and low risk,” which Milinovich says they’re hoping to change that by “making it incredibly risky” with low reward.
Their tactic is to make use of the FINTRAC experts and federal support to “attack the reward” and trace it back to criminals.
“Follow the money and you’ll find the organization responsible for organizing these [crimes],” said Milinovich.
In a statement to CBC Toronto, Conservative MPP Frank Caputo (Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola) said the announcement “will not do anything to stop the violence on our streets.”
“Criminals don’t comply with regulations and they will find new ways to launder their crime money,” he said. “FINTRAC’s main purpose is already to ‘follow the money’ and they have existing tools to do exactly that.”
“All the Liberals have done is created a slogan and a new check box for a performative photo op while ignoring the root of the problem.”