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 Liberal government announced this week that core public servants, including members and reservists of the RCMP, must be vaccinated or face suspension without pay as early as Nov. 15.
Politicians accustomed to sparring in British Columbia's legislature have joined forces outside the house to push for higher vaccination rates in the north, but a longtime member of the Opposition Liberals says the "Alberta influence" is a factor in a part of B.C. where intensive care units can't accommodate the influx of COVID-19 patients.
The victim, a 22-year-old South Vancouver resident, was waiting at a bus stop near Knight Street and East 57 Avenue on October 5, when she was approached by a stranger in a red puffy jacket with a fur-lined hood.
The man was arrested, and is currently in custody, with a court date on October 13, 2021. He is considered to be a prolific property crime offender. Police have recommended a number of charges to Crown for consideration, including assault causing bodily harm and break and enter.
Police believe this was a targeted incident and not a random act. Aside from the danger the fire posed, police do not believe there was any further risk to the general public in relation to this incident.
Re-elected Alberta MP Garnett Genuis recently penned a piece for a conservative news site discussing the Tories’ election promise to "protect the conscience rights of health-care professionals."
