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.
Monte Design had sent the rocking chair to GurKiran Kaur Sidhu as a payback for her Instagram post, and Singh tagging it on his Instagram page breaches laws set out in the Canadian Conflict of Interest Act.
There are currently 35,770 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 262,591 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 895 COVID-positive individuals are currently in hospital and 115 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
The victim has been identified as 25-year-old Melissa Blimkie from North Vancouver. The suspect has been identified as 31-year-old Everton Downey. The two were in a relationship for some time prior to the homicide.
On January 18, 2022 shortly before 9:00 p.m., Surrey RCMP responded to the report of a fight in front of a residence in the 13400-block of 66A Avenue. Upon arrival, officers located a 31-year-old man with a possible gunshot wound who was transported to hospital. The injury sustained was confirmed to be non-life threatening and the victim is expected to be released from hospital shortly.
A Canadian study suggests the antiviral medication remdesivir could have a "modest but significant effect" on COVID-19 patient outcomes, including decreasing the need for mechanical ventilation by approximately 50 per cent. The study, published Wednesday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, is billed as the largest single-country trial of remdesivir reported to date.
A statement from the Ministry of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation says businesses including event venues, bars, nightclubs and lounges that don't serve full meals are eligible for grants of up to $20,000, based on staffing levels.
