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.
Over the last few months, Surrey RCMP have received multiple calls of vandalism to public washroom facilities, particularly in the Cloverdale area. The damage has included smashed toilets, broken doors, partitions, vents, as well as stolen soap dispensers.
A man has been charged with one count of second-degree murder following an investigation into the death of a woman who went missing close to six years ago from Salmon Arm, B.C. The RCMP say Derek Favell has been charged in the death of Ashley Simpson, his girlfriend at the time she disappeared in 2016.
VPD’s Anti-Fencing Unit launched an undercover sting in April, sending entrenched officers to the Downtown Eastside to observe and gather evidence about the rampant trafficking of stolen property.
There are currently 2,876 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 215,190 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 241 individuals are currently in hospital and 89 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
Checking in on the app has become a mandatory part of crossing into Canada, regardless of how long the traveller has been out of the country. It collects information about where the traveller has been, the purpose of their trip, their contact information, vaccination information, pre-travel COVID-19 test results, and their quarantine plan once they are in Canada.
A disciplinary tribunal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta issued the suspension Monday to Dr. Wynand Wessels, a white, South African-born orthopedic surgeon.
