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.
There are currently 4,451 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 200,749 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 438 individuals are in hospital and 130 are in intensive care.
British Columbia's government says it will introduce legislation in the spring aimed at giving homebuyers a chance to change their mind on the purchase of a home. The so-called cooling-off period would allow purchasers to back out with no or diminished legal consequences.
The Vancouver Art Gallery at the Chan Centre for the Visual Arts will be a multifunctional art centre and community space, promising to provide increased space to support artists and the region's cultural sector in British Columbia.
The officers were familiar with the man because he’s a suspect in dozens of other mischiefs in the downtown core. In fact, he was arrested earlier that same day after allegedly breaking a window at a business near Robson and Bute Street.
The province says 550 cases were diagnosed this week in that age group from 14,295 total cases in the province between Oct. 26 and Nov. 1. Fifty-six of those children went to hospital, and four of them received critical care.
At 4:30 p.m. on October 29, VPD officers were called to a home near East 35th Avenue and Victoria Drive after an unknown man entered the home through the unlocked front door. The 89-year-old home owner was assaulted when he confronted the suspect. The suspect fled before officers arrived.
