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.
With less than two weeks to go, millions of voters are expected to tune in for Wednesday's two-hour French debate and Thursday's English debate. The topics for that debate are affordability, climate, COVID-19 recovery, leadership and accountability and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.
The Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue also came to help. Working together, the four agencies rescued the 17 stranded paddleboarders and ferried them back to shore. 13 others managed to make it across the narrows to the North Shore.
85.1% (3,943,729) of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 77.6% (3,594,929) received their second dose.
Dr. Bonnie Henry says residents will need to provide their personal health numbers, dates of birth and vaccination dates for their first and second doses to securely download their vaccine cards.
The woman was pinned under the dump truck, and bystanders and the driver of the dump truck assisted her with emergency first aid. This file remains under investigation.
To be eligible, travellers must have allowed at least 14 days to pass since their last vaccine shot and show proof of a negative molecular test for COVID-19 that's no more than 72 hours old.
