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 fraud charge against Craig James was stayed last week because it was related to the same set of evidence involving nearly $1,900 in claims he made for work attire, so a conviction was not entered on that count.
Councillors have voted unanimously in favour of a ban on the noisy, fume-producing tools, including chainsaws and lawn mowers. Users, from homeowners to professional landscaping companies, will have three years to phase out gas-powered items.
RCMP Cpl. Andres Sanchez describes the items as looking and feeling like "the real thing," but lacking the internal parts required to explode. He says airport security staff called 911 and held the bag in the X-ray machine until police arrived and found that a second bag belonging to the same man was also inside the machine, but it had yet to be scanned.
The city says in a written statement that the RCMP and firefighters responded to the scene and several businesses were evacuated. It says police and WorkSafeBC are investigating how the ammonia was released, and the coroners service has also launched an investigation.
The report released Thursday advises that sellers be required to provide reasonable access for a property inspection during the three-day homebuyer protection period, which would start the day after an offer is accepted.
On Friday, May 13, 2022, just before 4:30 p.m., a woman was sitting on a bench inside Pacific Centre Mall, near Granville Station, when a man allegedly approached her, touched her hip and attempted to pull her toward him. The suspect was interrupted by a Paladin Security Guard who shouted at him to stop and then called police.
