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 federal government is providing up to $1.3 billion to extend Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain line through Surrey and Langley. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement in Surrey today with the SkyTrain line in the background and several protesters yelling in the plaza behind him.
Vancouver Police are looking to speak to the driver of a white Tesla, as investigators believe there is video on the vehicle’s camera that may have captured evidence related to the fatal collision that claimed the life of a 23-month old girl on Tuesday.
The Canada Border Services Agency says incoming traffic has increased about 25 per cent since Monday, when quarantine rules were waived for fully vaccinated Canadians and permanent residents.
Alghabra says the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railways must cease movement for 48 hours, except for emergency fire response and maintenance and repair work, on stretches of track spanning parts of the British Columbia interior.
