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.
Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act, which replaced the War Measures Act in 1988, for the first time last week, saying police needed extra help to end protests against COVID-19 restrictions that had occupied downtown Ottawa for weeks and spread to key Canada-U.S. border crossings.
Today’s funding announcement comes after The Canadian Press reported earlier this month that the government was poised to lose hundreds of temporary staff next month.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Tuesday that Canada will deploy an additional 460 Canadian troops to help NATO in its standoff with Russia, including an artillery unit, a naval frigate and a surveillance aircraft.
Hudson's Bay Co. and its partner RioCan Real Estate Trust announced the plans Wednesday, saying the Bay store will remain at the site downtown along with other retail businesses as part of the redevelopment.
A fire ecologist says new provincial funding to expand the BC Wildfire Service to a year-round endeavour is a welcome step toward preventing disasters, while others in the field say the funds could be better spent elsewhere.
