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 move could deny participants a vital source of funds as Ottawa braces for a new wave of protesters slated to arrive in the national capital this weekend. GoFundMe says it supports peaceful protest and that it believes that was the initial intention of the Ottawa event.
Unifor and the Public and Private Workers of Canada say the four-year deal for 900 workers at Canfor will provide a $5,000 signing bonus plus wage increases of 2.5 per cent, 2.5 per cent, and three per cent in the following three years.
There are currently 25,479 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 301,573 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 946 COVID-positive individuals are currently in hospital and 139 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
Prevalence of cases among both vaccinated and unvaccinated Canadians has led to calls to nix the vaccine passport system by some who question whether the shots make a difference in transmission.
The bill will include the creation of a peace bond to prevent people from continuing to make racist comments or from carrying out hateful threats. The court order would be designed to prevent a hate crime occurring and would include penalties if it is breached, including up to four years imprisonment.
Demonstrators began parking their trucks and other vehicles last Saturday near the crossing at Coutts, Alta., in solidarity with similar events in Ottawa and other locations to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates and broader public health measures.
