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 government previously said current public health measures would remain in place until the end of June, but has been facing mounting pressure from industry and opposition to improve the chaotic situation playing out in Canada's airports.
That would be 15 months after an out-of-control wildfire swept through and burned 90 per cent of the community. Both Mike Farnworth and federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair praised the response of both levels of government as quick and expeditious.
Rain from last week is still moving through reservoirs, prompting a high streamflow advisory for the Nicola River, the same river that was flooded last November, washing away large sections of Highway 8 and stranding communities.
The Independent Investigations Office says in a statement that it filed a report with the BC Prosecution Service for consideration of charges. The office says the shooting happened Jan. 12 last year when police responded to a report of a man involved in a domestic incident in Chilliwack.
Premier John Horgan appointed Cullen in May 2019 to lead the inquiry after several reports determined billions of dollars linked to organized crime and the drug trade had affected B.C.'s gaming sector and the real estate and luxury vehicle markets.
On Thursday, June 9, at 8:58 p.m., Surrey RCMP received a report of a stabbing in the 10200-block 168 Street. Upon arrival to the scene, police located a 22-year-old man with non-life threatening injuries who was transported to hospital, treated and later released.
