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. Wildfire Service lists the current wildfire danger as low across most of the Kamloops Fire Centre, where at least six major fires have destroyed homes in several communities.
Two westbound lanes are currently closed and motorists can expect delays while police investigate. Motorists can monitor DriveBC.ca with respect to the delay.
The victim was taken to hospital with serious non-life threatening injuries. Police believe the assault occurred in the area of the 10600-block on 135A Street.
The Liberal government asked the court in June to affirm a prohibition on disclosure of records concerning dismissal of the scientists from Canada’s highest-security laboratory.
The number of active infections is up to nearly 5,300, with about 58 per cent located in the Interior Health region. There are 111 people in hospital, an increase of seven since Monday, including 51 in intensive care.
Police were in the area for two hours and in that short time issued 41 violation tickets and one impaired driver was taken off the streets through a 90-day Immediate Roadside Prohibition and a 30-day vehicle impound.
