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.
Bob Rae, Canada's ambassador to the UN, told The Canadian Press on Thursday that while Canadians may have been looking inward lately because of the federal election, they can't lose sight of the fact the pandemic won't end unless more is done to help less fortunate countries.
Bill Blair, the federal minister of public safety and emergency preparedness, says Ottawa will help with Alberta’s request for more critical care medical staff and Armed Forces' help airlifting patients to other provinces.
The premiers have asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to hold a first ministers’ meeting before the next speech from the throne, where they plan to demand an increase in long-term, unconditional health funding.
A new study has found homes close to fracking oil and gas wells in British Columbia have higher levels of certain organic pollutants, which may lead to short- and long-term health effects.
The Conservatives are projected to finish with 119 seats, which is two less than it won during the 2019 federal election under former leader Andrew Scheer.
Former SNC-Lavalin vice-president Normand Morin and former SNC-Lavalin International Inc. vice-president Kamal Francis, along with SNC-Lavalin and its subsidiary, have each been charged with forgery, conspiracy to commit forgery, fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, fraud against the government, and conspiracy to commit fraud against the government.
