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.
There are 3,132 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 210,070 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 337 individuals are in hospital and 115 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Monday his party intends to request an emergency debate as soon as possible to get a handle on the government's plans to combat the climate change emergency but also on the need to better prepare Canadian communities for the extreme weather they can expect to see in the months and years to come.
Amber Bracken was released on the condition that she appear in court in February and that she comply with the terms of the injunction order first granted to Coastal GasLink by the same judge in December 2019.
Terry Teegee, regional chief of the B.C. Assembly of First Nations, said the province could have acted faster after a heat dome this summer claimed nearly 600 lives and a wildfire destroyed much of the town of Lytton in the Fraser Canyon.
The five victims, all men from Surrey and Langley, suffered a variety of stab wounds, including injuries to their faces, stomachs, backs, and legs. The injuries are not life-threatening. Two suspects in their 30s, also men from Surrey, have been identified but are not currently in custody.
Selina Robinson says the province will factor in the cleanup costs associated with the disastrous floods and mudslides that hit communities, highways and railways in February's budget.
