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.
Premier John Horgan said the complex at the British Columbia Institute of Technology's campus will help more than 12,000 full- and part-time students a year in 20 trades and technology programs.
There are 744 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 and 120 are in intensive care. In the past 24 hours, five new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,781.
Did you accidentally drop a significant amount of cash in the 400-block of Schoolhouse Street? Coquitlam RCMP is asking the rightful owner to come forward. On February 9, 2021, someone was walking near the 400-block of Schoolhouse Street, Coquitlam when they dropped a large sum of cash.
Over 2,000 Indian students, who face an uncertain future after three Montreal colleges closed last month by declaring bankruptcy, have demanded intervention by the Canadian government to give them justice. The CCSQ College, M. College, and CDE College had collected millions of dollars in tuition fees from these students before closing.
The party's constitution requires the creation of a committee to determine the rules and procedures to be used as members prepare to select a permanent replacement for Erin O'Toole.
Provinces must match the funding, and work with cities to more quickly increase the supply of housing. Freeland says municipalities need the financial help to manage the economic repercussions of the pandemic and maintain transit systems.
