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 suspect is described as a Caucasian female, approximately 30-35 year old, slim build, 5’7 tall with long brown hair. She was last seen wearing red baseball hat (backward), red t-shirt with gold 23 logo, a grey long sleeve shirt underneath and baggy black pants.
The BC Prosecution Service says Robert Riley Saunders pleaded guilty to fraud over $5,000, breach of trust in connection with his duties as a child protection worker and causing the province to act on a forged document.
The Mounties say that the motorcyclist passed a police vehicle before the collision. They say the Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia is looking into whether police actions are linked to the man's death.
On September 26, 2021, at approximately 6:30 pm, Surrey RCMP responded to the report of an injured woman who was located in a trail near the 19400-block of Colebrook Road. The woman was transported to local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
There are 6,098 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 176,354 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 303 individuals are in hospital and 141 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
Just after 4:30 a.m. on Friday, a man walked into the Tim Horton’s near Davie and Hornby and ordered a donut. As his order was being prepared, he pulled out a can of bear spray and sprayed the employee. The suspect was arrested for assault with a weapon and mischief over $5,000.
