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 Abbotsford Police Department is investigating a suspicious occurrence involving three children in East Abbotsford. During the conversation, one male invited the children to get into his car to drive to his house, where there would be other children to play with. The eldest child was uncomfortable with the conversation, grabbed her siblings and ran home to tell their parents.
Global Affairs Canada said on Tuesday that the Canadian is among 32 dead in the collapse that occurred on June 24. The government agency said three other Canadians are among the 113 people who remain unaccounted for.
Police are investigating a shooting and separate vehicle fire in Surrey, B.C. RCMP say a home and vehicle in the Fleetwood neighbourhood were hit by several bullets just after 9 p.m. Monday.
RCMP say the 42-year-old woman called police late Monday to report she had fled the home after being stabbed, but the child was still in the house. The woman's attacker, who police say is known to the victims, is alleged to have set the home on fire before driving away.
