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.
There are 688 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 and 108 are in intensive care. In the past 96 hours, 44 new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,830.
Putin on Monday announced the deployment of Russian troops into two separatist regions on his country’s border with Ukraine, Donetsk and Luhansk. Both regions have already suffered eight years of war after Russia began providing weapons, ammunition and in some cases clandestine troops to separatist rebels in 2014.
Finance Minister Selina Robinson said Tuesday a three-year climate fund will support ongoing disaster cleanup and rebuilding in southern B.C. communities hit by last November’s floods and mudslides.
The driver was identified as 32-year-old, Zachary Wagner who had active arrest warrants out of Prince Rupert, Terrace, Sunshine Coast, Fort St John and Whitehorse. Wagner was wanted for various offences some of which included assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and unauthorized possession of a firearm.
Bernier was arrested last June and charged with exceeding public gathering limits and violating Manitoba's requirement to self-isolate upon entering the province.
In Ontario, Western University, York University and the University of Guelph say they're keeping their COVID-19 vaccination and masking requirements in place for students and staff until at least the end of the current winter semester.
