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 B.C. case came one day after 4,000 turkeys on a Fraser Valley farm were due to be euthanized as avian flu was verified last week on two commercial poultry farms in B.C.'s poultry producing hub of Abbotsford.
Trudeau's stops in Metro Vancouver come following his tense appearance at the unmarked residential school graves memorial ceremony Monday in Kamloops. The prime minister faced angry chants from some people at the memorial but was also warmly greeted by elders.
On Sunday, May 22, 2022 at 11:26 p.m., Burnaby RCMP frontline officers came upon a pedestrian that had been struck by a vehicle in the 6600 block of Hastings Street in Burnaby. A 2019 white Ford Edge was travelling east-bound on Hastings Street when it struck a lone pedestrian crossing the roadway.
Despite life-saving efforts by VPD, BC Ambulance Service and Vancouver Fire Rescue Services, the victim was taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries and died. A 24-year-old man has been arrested and remains in custody. The investigation is ongoing.
The 376 passengers arrived off the coast of B.C. hoping to challenge the immigration laws at the time which refused entry to any Indians who had not arrived in Canada via a continuous journey from the home country — nearly impossible at the time.
Upon attendance, Frontline officers spoke with the adult female resident, who reported that she had been sexually assaulted by an unknown male suspect. The female victim was taken to an area hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.
