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.
Rapid Response Mechanism Canada found the effort also seemed intent on fostering confusion or doubt in Canada and internationally about what Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were doing in China before they were detained in late 2018.
Flood watches remain posted across the Shuswap region, covering the Shuswap, South and North Thompson rivers and their tributaries as well as Quesnel Lake and the Quesnel and Horsefly rivers in the Cariboo region.
The Vancouver-based miner says it is working alongside Burkinabe authorities is it co-ordinates the dewatering and rehabilitation of the mine. The flooding event is under investigation by the company and government authorities.
The motorcycle was travelling southbound on Willingdon Avenue at the time of the crash, which is believed to have occurred at approximately 1:55 a.m. A 22-year-old motorcyclist was pronounced dead on scene.
A 23-year-old man from Surrey was leaving a concert at Rogers Arena around 11:30 p.m. Sunday when one of the men was confronted by a group of strangers and was stabbed in the abdomen. The victim was taken to hospital and is expected to survive. The suspects fled and have not been located.
Federal data show in 2019, 15.5 billion plastic grocery bags, 4.5 billion pieces of plastic cutlery, three billion stir sticks, 5.8 billion straws, 183 million six-pack rings and 805 million takeout containers were sold in Canada.
