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.
Legislation introduced Wednesday in the House of Commons would, if passed, create the $300-a-week benefit for workers who find themselves off the job because of a pandemic-related lockdown between now and spring 2022.
A statement from the federal ministers of transport and emergency preparedness says the government is contributing up to $4.1 million to ease bottlenecks at Vancouver ports.
In speaking with the man, our officers learned he had only owned it for 3 days before it was allegedly stolen, says Corporal Adriana O’Malley, Richmond RCMP Media Relations Officer. He also went on to tell the officers that he never expected to see his bike again so he was absolutely delighted when the call came from police.
Vancouver's mayor wants a new levy to fight climate change in the city's 2022 budget. If it's adopted by city council, Kennedy Stewart says the money raised from the levy would be used to cover infrastructure upgrades needed because of climate change.
There are 3,015 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 210,828 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 318 individuals are in hospital and 109 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
The findings are among new revelations contained in a lengthy report by the Association of the Families of Flight PS752 Victims that examines the Jan. 8, 2020 shootdown of the commercial airliner by the Iranian military.
