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.
In the first leg of his US visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met leading American CEOs in Washington. He held one-on-one meetings with the CEOs of semiconductor and wireless technology manufacturer Qualcomm, software major Adobe, renewable energy firm First Solar, arms manufacturer General Atomics and investment management company Blackstone.
On September 23, 2021, at approximately 5:00 am, Surrey RCMP responded to the report of two males shot at a residence in the 8800 block of 140B Street. A 23-year-old man and a 47-year-old man were transported to hospital with what are believed to be non-life threatening injuries.
The officers recognized the person behind the wheel, and confirmed via police checks that he was prohibited from driving. Although the police were in an unmarked vehicle, and had not yet engaged their emergency equipment, the driver reacted and fled the area at a high rate of speed.
Noormohamed was incorrectly projected as winner Wednesday night after the Elections Canada website showed 100 per cent of the polls in the riding had reported.
Online learning will be offered until the school's expected reopening on Oct. 4. The Ministry of Health reported 759 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C. on Wednesday, with 5,458 active cases provincewide.
RCMP say they responded to reports of shooting near Vernon and discovered a man's body at the scene. They say a man was arrested later the same day near Armstrong, B.C.
