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.
Due to the serious nature of the collision 184 Street is closed in both directions between 40 Avenue and 32 Avenue while police investigate the cause of the collision. The investigation is in the early stages and it is unknown how long road closures will remain in effect.
Consumer prices are already rising at their fastest pace in four decades, having jumped 7.5% in January compared with 12 months earlier. Gas prices, a key driver of that increase, have soared 40% over the past year.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland delivered the warning to anyone contemplating joining the Russian military invasion of Ukraine on Thursday as she announced more Canadian sanctions on Moscow and support for Kyiv in response to that attack.
At a Monday news conference at the Calgary airport hosted by the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable, WestJet communications vice-president Richard Bartrem said the carrier's flight volume remains at half of its 2019 level of roughly 700 trips per day.
The Seattle Times reports Brandan L. Wilkins pleaded guilty in February 2021 to enticing a minor, traveling with the intent to engage in a sexual act with a minor and possessing and receiving child pornography. Wilkins was a Transit Security Administration agent at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and has been in custody since his arrest in 2018.
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says Ukrainians fleeing Russian aggression can find a safe haven in Canada using expedited temporary visas for emergency travel. The minister also announced a new reunification program for Ukrainians with family in Canada and wish to come on a permanent basis.
