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 male yelled at the victim and threw several large rocks which resulted in lacerations to the victim’s head and hand. The suspect was not known to the victim and the motive behind the Assault is also unclear.
Trudeau says military police opted to lay the charges after civilian counterparts decided not to accept the case because the investigation was nearly finished.
The G7 summit in Schloss Elmau, Germany, from June 26 to 28 will also be largely focused on the conflict in Ukraine, but leaders will discuss global access to COVID-19 vaccines as well.
David Morin, 28, pleaded guilty Tuesday to aggravated assault and received a three-year sentence in relation to the January 22 stabbing of a stranger inside the Tim Hortons at Harbour Centre.
The organizers of the rally, held in remembrance of the victims of the 1984 massacre of Sikhs in India, had a permit to hold the event on Parliament Hill. When they arrived, they were told the area was shut down due to an ongoing threat and they moved to the lawn of the Supreme Court of Canada.
In Sparwood, a local state of emergency remains in place, with two mobile home parks and several other properties on evacuation alert due to surging levels of the Elk River.
