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.
Justice Mahmud Jamal says that means faith in the inherent value of the diversity of nationalities, ethnicities, religions, languages, legal systems and perspectives that exemplify what it means to be Canadian.
Police say they had been unable to pinpoint the home where the drugs were handed out at the time of the complaint, but an investigator kept note of the distinctive cartoon logo on the packaging.
RCMP say they found a 73-year-old woman dead in the Rural Municipality of Hanover yesterday and had information a suspect was headed to Winnipeg. A short time later, police responded to a report of a stabbing at the Seven Oaks General Hospital, where a woman in her 60s who works at the hospital was found seriously injured.
The premier says he won't step down and he plans to retain his position as the head of the Council of the Federation. He says as a precaution, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth has been appointed deputy premier to support him.
The troubling incident happened around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, as the 23-year-old victim was leaving a coffee shop near Main and East Pender streets. The 35-year-old suspect is known to police. She was released from custody after agreeing to attend court at a later date.
The report, which includes 2019 and 2020, adds up loans, loan guarantees, grants, share purchases and insurance coverage provided to fossil fuel producers by governments, government agencies and government-owned multinational development banks.
