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.
Speaking to reporters in Toronto Tuesday, McKenna says the funding will support communities in conducting projects to face the risks of wildfires and floods, rehabilitate storm water systems and restore wetlands and shorelines.
Parliament's legal expert says the Liberal government waded into uncharted territory when it decided to delay enacting tax rule changes on the sale of small businesses between family members.
The government announced Tuesday that Canada Child Benefit payments will max out this year at $6,833 for children five and under, and $5,765 for children six to 17.
While Canadian health authorities say recipients of a Moderna dose should not hesitate to have Pfizer-BioNTech as their second jab — or vice versa — the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has so far been reluctant to sanction the practice, saying it should only be done in "exceptional situations."
A regional politician in British Columbia's Interior is calling for more support amid a "dire" wildfire situation that he said has filled every available hotel with fleeing evacuees and stretched local security resources beyond their capacity.
VPD responded to multiple 9-1-1 calls just before 10 a.m. Monday after a security guard at a drug store near Thurlow and Davie Street was stabbed multiple times while trying to detain a shoplifter. VPD officers performed first aid until paramedics arrived and transported the victim to hospital.
