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 Conservation Officer Service says dogs were brought in and the big cat was tracked and safely captured. It had been spotted earlier in a central part of the city near the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.
Poilievre also says he would bring in new laws to support the energy sector and protect the environment — and he promises the work will include consultation with First Nations.
That's a jump of almost 20 cents per litre in barely one week and Dan McTeague with Canadians for Affordable Energy says the war in Ukraine is a key reason.
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Surrey RCMP Serious Crime Unit took conduct of the investigation and identified a possible suspect early on. In March 2020, a search warrant was executed on the suspect’s residence. The suspect was arrested and later released while the investigation continued.
The lawyer for Allen Schoenborn has told the B-C review board during an annual hearing that his client has been on a "generally positive trajectory" since being granted day leave.
