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.
Many of the break-ins have occurred in parkade storage lockers, where thieves have made off with expensive items. However, there have been several break & enters to residences, some of which have been occupied.
In central B.C., flood watches have been posted for the Skeena, Bulkley, Quesnel and Horsefly rivers and their tributaries, while a high streamflow advisory is in place for a 600-kilometre stretch of the Fraser River, from Quesnel through Metro Vancouver to the ocean.
Raj Grewal parted ways with the Liberals in the fall of 2018 just three years after first being elected, and he later acknowledged having a gambling addiction. In September 2020 he was charged by the RCMP with four counts of breach of trust and one of fraud over $5,000.
The Crown corporation said the electrification of its 14,000 vehicles will serve its commitment to reduce its environmental footprint and reach net-zero emissions by 2050, earmarking $1 billion to do so.
A release from the coroners service also notes drug users on Vancouver Island and in northern areas of the province are particularly at risk of death from a toxic supply of substances, prompting chief coroner Lisa Lapointe to urge people not to use alone.
Chantelle Ashley Mulleady, 33-years-old, has been charged with two counts of Aggravated Assault and two counts of Assault with a Weapon. She remains in custody awaiting her next court appearance.
