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.
The expansion is set to nearly triple the capacity of the existing 1,150-kilometre pipeline that carries 300,000 barrels per day of petroleum products from Alberta to B.C., which will significantly increase the number of tankers carrying oil for export.
The new order differs from last month's announcement when provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said all regulated health professionals vaccinated with one dose before March 24 could continue to work only if they received a second dose within 35 days.
Ukraine is one of the world's major wheat exporters and since Russia's attack, global wheat prices have risen to levels not seen since 2008. Sandra McCardell, an assistant deputy minister at Global Affairs Canada, told a Senate committee last week that there will be “a wide range of fallout” from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
There are 449 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 and 63 are in intensive care. In the past 72 hours, 11 new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,914.
With Sept.10 picked as the date for when the Conservative Party of Canada will have a new leader, time is ticking for prospective candidates and their teams to get into place. Those running have until April 19 to throw their hat into the ring and until June 3 to sell memberships.
NATO figures estimate Canada spent 1.39 per cent of its GDP on defence last year. The 2017 defence plan Trudeau referred to promised to inject $535 billion over 20 years into the military, which would get spending to about 1.5 per cent of GDP.
