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.
In a newly released report, the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency sheds fresh light on the Canadian Security Intelligence Service's use of powers, ushered in six years ago, to actively counter threats.
Rob Fleming said people should prepare for two more storms expected to hit the province on Saturday and Tuesday following a major atmospheric river that devastated some communities where essential supplies are being delivered by air.
B.C.'s private cannabis stores can now start stocking pot-themed clothing, books and other goods. The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General announced today that private pot shops can immediately begin selling ancillary items that have a clear link to cannabis.
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Clayton Brooks Hayden plead guilty to 15 fraud related charges and was sentenced on November 16, 2021. He received a sentence of 15 months jail time, two years probation and was ordered to pay restitution to all 15 victims on the offences he plead guilty to.
Investigators discovered that Mohammed Movassaghi, 43, was running an illegal booze can and show lounge inside his 1,100-square-foot penthouse, packing it with hundreds of people, and violating Covid-19 health orders.
