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 ire of Ottawa residents about traffic gridlock, the incessant blare of truck horns, harassment of service workers and fouling of property has sparked questions concerning the role of police in ensuring public order.
The federal government introduced legislation on Monday to continue providing as many rapid tests as possible to the provinces and territories. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos introduced the bill in the House of Commons on MPs' first day back after a six-week break.
Assistant Chief Ken Gemmill says crews were called to the highrise around 6 a.m., finding flames and smoke coming from a fourth-floor unit with a man still inside.
Brad West said the citizens of Port Coquitlam revere Fox and don't support anyone using his image to make political statements that Fox would not have supported.
There are currently 27,454 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 293,124 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 1,048 COVID-positive individuals are currently in hospital and 138 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
A 26-year old man was attacked with a machete while sleeping inside Gastown's Colonial Hotel on Friday. The attack left the man with two partially severed fingers and knife wounds to his left knee.
