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 findings released Tuesday are based on the responses of 25,268 adults in 10 provinces — including 6,517 Indigenous individuals — to a survey last spring about the pandemic's impacts on health care.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says up to 350,000 children will be eligible for the vaccine and more than 90,000 kids are already registered.
Delivered in the Senate, the ceremony surrounding the opening of Parliament hearkens back to a struggle in 1642 in the English House of Commons between an unpopular King and his MPs.
Blair says it's still too early to estimate how much it will cost to fix all the damage caused by the atmospheric river that hit B.C. earlier this month. The storm dropped nearly 300 mm of rain on some communities in southern B.C. in less than two days, washing out major highways and rail lines, and triggering mudslides that killed at least four people.
The federal minister of emergency preparedness says border guards have been advised that British Columbia residents can cross into the United States for essential supplies because of flooding in the province after some were reportedly facing fines or told they would have to quarantine on returning to Canada.
The poll by Leger in collaboration with The Canadian Press found that 45 per cent of Canadians say they will "greet others with a handshake, hug or kiss" at Christmas parties and other holiday gatherings.
