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.
Twelve people had been rescued from Highway 7 near Agassiz by the local fire department on Sunday evening before the Vancouver Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Team was called in on Monday.
Darlene Bennett launched the campaign with the group Surrey Police Vote over concerns about rising costs associated with starting a new municipal police force, which was a key pledge in Mayor Doug McCallum's election campaign in 2018.
The Ministry of the Attorney General says the legislation would establish 20-metre zones around hospitals, schools and COVID-19 vaccination and test centres, making it an offence to impede access to the facilities and their services.
There are 3,837 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 206,665 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 376 individuals are in hospital and 116 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
The victim initially met the suspect in the 10500-block of King George Boulevard and they walked to a secondary location. While en route to the location, they walked through a wooded area where the suspect attacked the victim.
The Liberals promised more than a dozen initiatives in their election platform — including the introduction or reintroduction of at least eight bills — within the first 100 days of a new mandate.
