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.
In a report published this morning, budget officer Yves Giroux says Ottawa topped up expenditures on its national housing strategy by nearly one quarter for an average of $3.7 billion annually over the past three years.
O'Toole also reopened the door to a Canadian boycott of next year's Winter Olympics in China, warning the Chinese government's recent actions show Canadians are not safe in the country.
There were 422 new cases from Friday to Saturday, marking the third day in a row that case counts topped 400. From Saturday to Sunday, there were 364 cases, while 293 cases were reported from Sunday to Monday.
Starting Sept. 1, 2021, children 12 and under will be able to “Get on Board” any BC Transit or TransLink service for free as part of the provincial government’s commitment to efficient, reliable and affordable transit for families.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan have not commented since the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service announced late Friday that they had decided there was not enough evidence to charge McDonald.
