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 government, Crown agency Innovate B.C., the Information and Communications Technology Council and Mitacs are spending a total of $29 million to create 3,000 jobs for those entering the technology sector this year.
The money is part of $12 million in funding the province announced in June after the discovery of what are believed to be the remains of more than 200 children at the site of the former residential school in Kamloops.
The driver of the vehicle, a 21-year-old male of Vancouver came to a stop after striking a parked car. He was arrested at scene, taken to a local hospital for minor injuries, later released, and will appear in court at a later date.
51 MPs, who lost their seats or decided not to stand again, qualify for a severance cheque worth half their salary — some $92,900 or more if they were a cabinet minister or chaired a committee.
In a post on Twitter, Transport Canada says direct flights from India can land in Canada, but travellers must have a negative COVID-19 test from an approved laboratory at the New Delhi airport no more than 18 hours before their departure.
Press secretary Jen Psaki says the U.S. Department of Justice is an independent agency and reached the decision to pursue a deferred prosecution agreement with the Huawei executive on its own.
