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 average annual cost of claims for property damage or losses due to severe weather has more than quadrupled over the last decade to about $2 billion, said Craig Stewart, the bureau's vice-president of federal affairs.
The victim, a 46-year-old man from Vancouver, was near Quebec Street and East 10th Avenue around 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon when someone approached from behind and cut his throat, then walked away.
Police believe the suspect was walking near Broadway and Commercial Drive around 8 a.m. Sunday when he allegedly approached a 35-year-old man outside a fast-food restaurant and sexually assaulted him by groping him from behind. A number of people saw the incident and called 9-1-1, but the suspect fled before police arrived.
There are 5,090 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 149,553 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 104 individuals are in hospital and 47 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
On Sunday, August 15, at around 12:40 PM, Emergency Health Services (EHS) advised Ridge Meadows RCMP of a deceased female located in a field in the 20000 block area of Old Dewdney Trunk Rd.
Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole laid out his party's full platform, which similarly aims to create jobs, but also unwinds the Trudeau government's child-care system.
