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.
Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, says his organization has asked Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to extend the hiring credit.
So far about 60,000 Ukrainians and their families have applied to come to Canada under that program, and another 12,000 have come under traditional immigration streams since January.
The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission's report released today also says national training related to unbiased policing is lacking. The watchdog says the policy should require recurring bias training.
The Parole Board of Canada says in a written decision that it has granted Tammy Goforth supervised visits in the community for personal development purposes.
The ministry says the program for seasonal agriculture workers ends Thursday because of the easing of federal travel restrictions and high vaccination rates for incoming workers that allows them to go directly to their farms.
Budget officer Yves Giroux's report focuses on costs related to the three-year minimum sentence for possession of a prohibited firearm with ammunition, in force since 2008.
