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.
British Columbia's website says eligibility will expand to those 18 and older as of January and Ontario hinted earlier this week that larger segments of the population could soon be included in its booster rollout.
It's too early to say whether Canada's latest requirement to test arriving air travellers for COVID-19 will be extended to include those coming from the United States, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said Wednesday. The federal government is in discussions with the provinces on that issue but is ready to act to implement such a requirement for incoming U.S. air travellers if necessary, he said.
Several young Canadians are taking the federal government to court in an effort to strike down the minimum voting age. They argue that denying citizens under the age of 18 the right to vote in federal elections is unconstitutional.
Mary Ng met virtually Tuesday with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to talk about a number of festering trade irritants, including Canada's "significant concern" with a proposed tax credit for electric vehicles.
A government bill seeking to ban conversion therapy has cleared the House of Commons and is on its way to the Senate. Erin O'Toole had been set to once again allow his caucus to have a free vote on the bill, but also pledged that his MPs would work to get it passed quickly.
Amita Kuttner, the new interim Green leader, says they will be ready to take tough disciplinary action to deal with party members who "have been at each other's throats." The astrophysicist, who is nonbinary, says they want to "listen and love" to "heal" the party, which has been riven by infighting and accusations of racism and antisemitism.
