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 over pass where these incidents took place is between the 32 Avenue and King George Boulevard exits of Highway 99. It connects the 3700-block of 148 street to several walking paths in the area. Investigators are releasing details about each of these incidents and are asking anyone with information or dashcam video to contact Surrey RCMP.
Police in Delta, B.C., say an investigation into a fire that burned down a commercial building on New Year's Day last year has ended with a guilty plea. Deputy Chief Harj Sidhu says officers retrieved key information from a digital video recorder that had been submerged in water, through help from the local fire department and municipal engineering services.
There are currently 3,020 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 213,694 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 284 individuals are in hospital and 97 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota says the chamber's governing body overstepped its authority when it required anyone entering the Commons precinct to be fully vaccinated. Rota has sided with the Conservatives in concluding that the all-party board of internal economy did not have the authority to impose a vaccine mandate.
As health officials from around the world warned about the new Omicron variant, Ottawa announced earlier this week that all air passengers entering Canada, except those from the United States, need to be tested upon arrival and isolate until they get their results.
Helijet president Danny Sitnam says the company has partnered with Blade, a technology company, to begin work to build and integrate the so-called electric vertical aircraft into its fleet.
