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 year 2021 has been exceptionally good for Apple in India and despite supply constraints, the tech giant doubled its India market share in its fiscal year that ended on September 30, Cook had recently announced.
Health spending is projected to have increased 12.8 per cent between 2019 and 2020. That's more than triple the average annual growth rate seen from 2015 to 2019, which was approximately four per cent per year. Spending is estimated to have increased another 2.2 per cent between 2020 and 2021.
All travellers over the age of five, regardless of citizenship or vaccination status, must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 molecular test in order to enter the country. It can cost between $150 and $300, making it prohibitively expensive for many families.
All cases involving allegations of criminal sexual misconduct in the military should be immediately transferred to civilian authorities, retired Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour told the federal Liberal government last month.
To commemorate this year's event, the Canucks for Kids Fund will be donating $20,000 between Guru Nanak's Free Kitchen, a Sikh-faith led volunteer organization supporting Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and Kids Play Foundation, a local non-profit organization that engages youth through sports.
In December 2018, Surrey RCMP located a coin collection in a vehicle during a criminal investigation. The occupants of the vehicle did not claim ownership of the coins, leading police to believe they were stolen. Police were unable to locate any reports of lost/ stolen coins matching the description of the collection located.
