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.
Transportation Minister Rob Fleming said Highway 3 is likely to be the quickest route to reopen, possibly by the end of the weekend, but damage to Highway 1 and the Coquihalla Highway is so extreme that geotechnical assessments won't be possible until conditions are drier.
Jima Cannabis says it closed its Abbotsford location after floods began encroaching on the plaza where the store is located and buried a nearby highway under water earlier this week.
An evacuation order was issued for about 1,000 properties in the Sumas Prairie area Tuesday when a severe weekend rainstorm pushed up water levels in the area that is home to many large dairy and poultry farms and other agricultural operations.
On June 4, 2021, a large amount of cash was located in a box of clothing donated to a thrift store in the 6900 block of King George Boulevard and subsequently turned into the Surrey RCMP. It is believed that the box was donated between May 30, 2021 and June 2, 2021.
The head of the union representing Veterans Affairs Canada case managers is warning her members are near their “breaking point” thanks to an excessive amount of work and lack of support from higher ups.
There are currently 3,568 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 207,275 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 376 individuals are currently in hospital and 107 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
