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 weather office warned of dangerous storm surges on Monday as west winds gust to 100 kilometres per hour. The agency said the winds could send waves of up to 12 metres "crashing onshore" during the height of the storm.
Horgan says his symptoms are mild and he is isolating and working from home. He recently underwent treatment of his throat cancer and was back in his office in January.
A woman was reported walking through a local business parking lot when she was approached by an unknown man driving a grey or silver van. During this encounter, the victim was sexually assaulted. The suspect male is described as South Asian, 30 years of age, with short brown hair and a beard.
The national phone survey by the Canadian Hub for Applied and Social Research at the University of Saskatchewan was done between March 7 and March 24. It asked 1,011 people about the issues that divide them the most.
The B.C. board says last month's sales totalled 4,344, a 27 per cent increase from 3,424 homes sold in February 2022 and a 24 per cent decrease from the 5,708 sales recorded in March 2021.
“More than 100 years ago, the first gurdwara in our province opened its doors in Vancouver. Now British Columbia is home to one of the largest Sikh populations outside of India, and our province is honoured to dedicate this month to acknowledge and celebrate the rich culture and diversity the Sikh community brings."
