Ottawa, June 24 (IANS) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has denied meddling in an investigation into the 2020 mass shooting, the worst the country's history.
Brenda Lucki, head of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), has been accused of pressuring local officers to help advance Trudeau's gun control plans, the BBC quoted the Halifax Examiner as saying, which was the first to report on the development.
According to the Halifax Examiner, the accusation stemmed from notes made by a local RCMP officer, released as part of a public investigation into the mass shooting on April 18-19, 2020, during which a gunman posing as a police officer killed 22 people in Nova Scotia.
The suspect died in a stand-off with police.
Addressing reporters on Thursday, Trudeau said that his government "did not put any undo influence or pressure" on police.
"It is extremely important to highlight that it is only the RCMP, it is only police that determine what and when to release information," the BBC quoted the Prime Minister as saying.
Denying the accusations, Commissioner Lucki said in a statement released on Tuesday that information sharing between the federal government and police is normal during a high-profile event such as a mass shooting.
The RCMP chief however acknowledged that she "should have been more sensitive" in her approach.
Canada's opposition Conservative Party has called for a debate in the House of Commons, and a parliamentary committee voted on Thursday to hold a hearing into the matter.
In the wake of the deadliest rampage in Canadian history, Prime Minister Trudeau in May 2020 announced an immediate ban on the sale, transportation, importation, or use of some 1,500 makes and models of "military-grade assault-style" weapons.
Cullen’s report makes 101 recommendations, including calling on the B.C. government to establish an office of an independent commissioner to focus on anti-money laundering, amending the Mortgage Brokers Act and Real Estate Services Regulation and forcing casinos to lower the threshold for requiring proof of a gambler’s source of funds to $3,000.
Kelowna R-C-M-P say 31-year-old Chelsea Cardno left her home at around 8 a.m., and was planning to walk through the Mission Greenway bordering Mission Creek. Cardno's white BMW was found parked near the greenway but there has been no sign of her or her German shepherd dog, JJ.
The Surrey RCMP Community Response Unit executed a search warrant on a residence located in the 13700-block Grosvenor Road. The residence was identified by officers who were conducting proactive enforcement in North Surrey area.
The latest is the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity, which Biden announced last week as he kicked off the Summit of the Americas, where leaders from 21 countries across the Western Hemisphere gathered, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Canadian and foreign visitors are still required to use the app or an online portal to submit their vaccination information to the Canada Border Services Agency ahead of time.
Interim Ottawa police chief Steve Bell shared that information in a letter to the city's police services board Tuesday night. Bell says in light of that investigation, Ottawa police is limited in what it can share about the circumstances around Saturday's incident, but adds it will work to give as much information as possible to "ensure transparency."
