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.
United Steelworkers, which represents workers trapped at Totten Mine near Sudbury, Ont., said it was pleased with the progress of the operation, which has required miners to scale a series of ladders to climb out.
Just 10 per cent of respondents to the Leger survey said they're happy with the outcome, which produced another Liberal minority government led by Justin Trudeau and only minor changes to the seat counts of all the parties.
Sen. Peter Harder, one of the 12 senators who worked on the report, says the group believes the country shouldn't wait until after the pandemic to rethink how to improve Canada's economic performance.
The Liberal members will elect a new leader Feb. 5 to replace former leader Andrew Wilkinson and interim leader Shirley Bond. The debate will be streamed on the Liberal party's website and Facebook page.
Vancouver park board commissioners have voted unanimously to amend park bylaws to prohibit the feeding of any wild animal, from pigeons and geese to squirrels, raccoons and coyotes.
The Vancouver School Board becomes the first in the province to mandate masks for primary students. The approved motion leaves room for parental input, if concerns are submitted in writing to the principal of their child's school.
