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.
Getting kids back to school is "essential," says British Columbia's top doctor as she and the education minister laid out plans for keeping students safe while COVID-19 infections surge. Dr. Bonnie Henry said Friday that schools need to remain open for the emotional, physical and intellectual well-being of children.
There are 33,184 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 240,198 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 349 individuals are in hospital and 93 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
The area surrounding the scene will be cordoned off for a significant amount of time. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) has been called and will be working in partnership with Langley RCMP.
The third round of applications for the $675-million onshore program of the Emissions Reduction Fund was initially set to close today, but it has been put on hold while Wilkinson's department tries to address some of those concerns.
Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says about 27 of the 130 passengers on the Sunwing party flight to Mexico have returned to Canada. Duclos told reporters today the returning travellers were interrogated at the border, tested for COVID-19 and had their documents, including PCR test results, verified by authorities.
Troy Weppler says he turned away from a post office employee in Saskatoon as he shoved a box of COVID-19 rapid tests into an envelope to send to family in British Columbia.
