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 federal Liberal government has already inked deals with seven provinces and one territory on its $30-billion, five-year child care plan, which promises to cut child-care prices to an average of $10 per day across the country, but Alberta and Ontario so far have remained holdouts.
WASHINGTON - Business leaders in Canada are urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to show some tough love when he visits the White House this week. Trudeau is scheduled to meet face-to-face Thursday with U.S. President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Employees in the core federal public sector who have not been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will be put on unpaid leave today, unless they were already granted an accommodation. The policy could potentially leave more than 1,000 workers without pay and unable to access employment insurance benefits.
Jenny Kwan, NDP MP for Vancouver East, says she opted in to an expert security assessment of her home and it made her feel safer knowing the measures are up to par not just for herself but also her family.
Rising rivers or landslides also prompted evacuation orders in Merritt, Agassiz, Abbotsford and in Princeton, where a dike burst Monday morning, forcing residents of about 200 properties from their homes. In Merritt, rising river waters overwhelmed the city's water system and residents were ordered to "immediately cease" all water use.
There are currently 4,265 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 204,963 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 384 individuals are currently in hospital and 124 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
