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.
Lapointe says five people are dying every day and those who survive an overdose are often left with serious long-term health challenges so expanded access to a safer supply of alternative drugs would lessen those harms.
Selina Robinson reacted strongly to questions about the status of abortion in B.C. and Canada following reports the U.S. Supreme Court may strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion rights ruling.
A statement from Vernon North Okanagan RCMP says officers are investigating "suspicious circumstances" surrounding two wildfires in the Westwold area on Monday.
The board says residential home sales in the region totalled 3,232 in April, down from 4,908 in April 2021 and 4,344 homes in March 2022. The April sales were 1.5 per cent above the 10-year sales average for the month.
The 15-year-old boy from Vancouver was arrested Saturday night after three people were hurt in separate assaults that evening. Police say a 57-year-old man called 911 to say he was chased along the seawall near the Olympic Village by the teen, who repeatedly punched and kicked him.
VPD responded to reports of a disturbance inside a building near Ontario Street and First Avenue around 2:30 a.m. on May 1. When officers arrived, they found the victim suffering from fatal stab wounds. She died on scene.
