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 survey asked more than 14,500 Canadians online between December 2020 and February 2021 if they intended to get vaccinated once they were eligible, with researchers identifying differences in participants by age, education, ethnicity, and home province.
Dr. Bonnie Henry says about 600,000 kids in that age range are not eligible for vaccination in B.C., and rising cases in the United States are directly linked to low immunization rates in the community.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said that there are 6,045 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Of the active cases, 187 individuals are currently hospitalized, 103 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
The coroner says in a statement the powerful opioid fentanyl was involved in 85 per cent of deaths. Lapointe says the data released today highlights the immensity of the public health emergency.
Emergency Management BC says there were 21 evacuation orders covering 3,754 properties as of Monday evening, a drop from 3,927 properties the day before.
Canada and other allies are pushing the Taliban to allow anyone with valid travel documents to leave Afghanistan, Garneau said, with hopes the Kabul airport will soon reopen under civilian control.
