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 Bank of Canada enacted extraordinary measures during the pandemic to keep credit flowing and encourage low interest rates to spur demand. Its program to purchase government bonds, known as quantitative easing, encouraged low rates on things such as mortgages and business loans.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says unvaccinated health-care workers will be offered the first opportunity to receive the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine against COVID-19 when it arrives in British Columbia next week.
Environment Canada had previously reported a tornado over the Strait of Georgia just west of the Vancouver International Airport at about 5 p.m. on Nov. 6.
There are currently 4,301 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 203,375 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 426 individuals are currently in hospital and 124 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
The Bolivian government struck a deal with Ontario's Biolyse Pharma to seek a compulsory licence to produce and export COVID-19 vaccines without the permission of the patent holder.
The RCMP say the officers were driving along a logging road near Port Renfrew, where they were heading to enforce a court injunction against blockades set up to protest old-growth logging.
