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.
Donations collected during the fundraising campaign are used to support various Legion programs for veterans, including emergency food and shelter as well as bursaries, disaster relief and remembrance activities.
The coast guard says in a statement posted on social media that a salvage crew from Resolve Marine is on the scene, but the wind storm that lashed Vancouver Island and the south coast has prevented anyone from boarding the ship.
The strategy includes increasing the price of carbon pollution by meeting or exceeding the 2019 federal benchmark of $170 per tonne starting in 2023 through taxes consumers would pay on fuel and goods as well as by industry that emits carbon dioxide.
The RCMP say second-degree murder charges have been laid against a man for the deaths of two people in the Vancouver Island community of Crofton. They say 33-year-old Justin Dodd was arrested early Saturday morning without incident.
Drivers are encouraged to watch for pedestrian traffic and additional signage in the area of Templeton Street and Grant McConnachie Way, and are asked to follow the directions of police and flag persons on scene.
Wilkinson and Flasbarth were asked by COP26 president designate Alok Sharma in July to come up with a plan to finally deliver on the financing pledges made to raise US$100 billion annually by 2020.
