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.
Senior U.S. government officials outlined the measure in advance of Thursday's meeting that President Joe Biden is hosting at the White House with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador.
There's an urgent need to repair broken dikes in British Columbia's Fraser Valley with rain in the forecast and a river in Washington state still pushing water north, says the mayor of a community with the highest flood level.
There are 3,380 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 207,779 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 379 individuals are in hospital and 109 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
B.C. Premier John Horgan declared the state of emergency, saying it will help preserve basic access to services and supplies for communities across the province.
Kay is also accused of assault in connection with an incident that occurred October 21 at the Pan Pacific Hotel. In that case, a man was arrested after he allegedly threatened to stab a stranger with a needle.
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