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.
A statement from the RCMP's head office in B.C. says it started Thursday morning when an officer tried to stop a vehicle over an outstanding warrant in Campbell River on Vancouver Island.
Horgan says B.C. is experienced and accustomed to dealing with wildfires during the summer months, but massive, destructive fires over the past five years now demand governments look at new approaches to prevent and fight fires.
78.4% (3,635,811) of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 40.0% (1,854,387) received their second dose.
New research from France adds to evidence that widely used COVID-19 vaccines still offer strong protection against a coronavirus mutant that is spreading rapidly around the world and now is the most prevalent variant in the U.S.
Independent MP Jody Wilson-Raybould will not seek re-election in the next federal campaign, saying in a letter to her constituents on Thursday that Parliament has become "toxic and ineffective" during her time in politics.
Tam says the Lambda variant first identified in Peru has been confirmed in 11 Canadian cases to date, but adds it's too early to know how widespread it is or what impact it could have.
