As soon as the allegation rolls around Bill Blair may have interfered politically with the RCMP in the wake of nova scotia mass shootingThe emergency preparedness minister says he will “of course” be in cabinet.
Two letters have now surfaced that Blair pushed the RCMP commissioner Brenda Luckey to demand Nova Scotia RCMP Release details about the firearms used during the shooting spree that claimed 22 lives on April 18, 2020.
He alleges that the pressure was tied to the Liberal government’s goals of passing firearms legislation – a claim Blair vehemently denied at Wednesday’s press conference.
“My government and I did not issue any operating instructions or interfere in any way with the investigation or police response,” Blair said.
“I never crossed that line.”
Luckey cited Blair’s ‘pressure’ amid Nova Scotia shooting investigation: RCMP official
The letter claimed the RCMP leader focused on the Liberal government’s agenda of passing a firearms law during a hurriedly organized meeting.
According to Scanlan, who was Director of Strategic Communications at the time of the shooting, Luck was on the line that Halifax staff had not released gun details, suggesting that they had left surviving children whose parents were killed at Portapique. went, ns
This is not the first allegation of political pressure over the shooting.
Handwritten notes from Sept. Darren Campbell, who was released on Monday, described the RCMP as saying the investigation could be in jeopardy if they released full details about the two rifles and two pistols.
Campbell’s notes allege that Luckey said during an April 28, 2020 meeting that he had promised the federal Department of Public Security and the Prime Minister’s Office information on the shooter’s guns would be released – as it was a “pending gun Control was bound by law.”
While Luckey confirmed on Tuesday that he had indeed received a letter from an RCMP employee about this controversial meeting, he denied any attempt to “interfere with the ongoing investigation”.
“Nor did I feel any political pressure to do so,” he said in an emailed statement to the Canadian press.
“It was an extremely difficult time and I expressed disappointment with the flow of information.”
Less than two weeks after the massacre, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a ban on 1,500 makes and models of “assault-style firearms” – some of which were used by the Nova Scotia shooter.
Blair said on Wednesday that the order in council had been in the works for “several months”.
“The RCMP was, of course, involved in those discussions from the very beginning because they are responsible for the administration of the Canadian firearms program,” he said.
However, all the weapons of the shooter were illegally owned. The April 1 report of the Public Casualty Commission revealed that many of the weapons were purchased in the United States, and that the shooter did not have a firearms license.
Meanwhile, the RCMP has faced criticism for its handling of communications during and after the Nova Scotia mass shooting.
Nova Scotia RCMP under fire
Just before midnight on the day of shooting, the Nova Scotia RCMP posted a tweet warning residents about a “firearms complaint” in Portapique and asking them to stay indoors. It did not specify whether there was an active shooter.
Despite 911 calls that night and a series of eyewitness accounts, the RCMP also failed to inform the public that the perpetrator was driving a replica police cruiser until the next day.
Cpl after sending tweet Lisa Croteau – the only communications team member on the call that weekend – said she believed she had fallen asleep.
Scanlan, who told the investigation she was “always available” to respond to the crisis, was still asleep that night.
Croteau told investigators that he tried to call Scanlan several times, but he got his voicemail. She also said that she tried to call Scanlan’s second command, Cindy Byers, but got her voicemail as well.
While officers were asleep, social media was abuzz with word of the killings – and many Nova Scotians panicked. The families of some of the victims sought information from the police about their loved ones, but to no avail.
Nova Scotia attorney Adam Rodgers said, “We see on the RCMP’s side … a lack of willingness to provide basic facts and other information that the public is entitled to receive.”
This secretive attitude was also spread to the media.
Scanlan, who was responsible for the military’s post-shooting communications strategy, said she was “disgusted” by the media’s handling of the shooting.
Within days of the shooting, he told investigators that he had turned his office into a “no news zone.”
Blair mentioned these communication issues during his press conference on Wednesday.
“We heard the concerns of the people of Nova Scotia very clearly,” he said.
“This is one of the reasons why, within the mandate of the Mass Casualty Commission, we (them) specifically intended to investigate communications as a form of communication to the people of Nova Scotia during this incident and to investigate its aftermath.” Told.”
Opposition MPs demand probe
In a statement released last week, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh alleged that the government called Lukki “very disturbing” for interfering in the mass shooting probe.
He has demanded an inquiry.
“These allegations suggest that government pressure risks undermining the investigation of the worst mass shootings in Canadian history to its own political agenda,” he wrote.
“Canadians should be able to trust their institutions. The idea that this government – that any government – would use this gruesome act of mass murder to gain support for its gun policy, is completely unacceptable. “
RCMP, Liberals deny they interfered with Nova Scotia shooting investigation to advance gun laws
Several Conservative lawmakers also issued a joint statement highlighting their concerns about the claims.
“Separating political institutions from our law enforcement is critical. Our police need to be able to do their important job without politicians attempting to run or influence them in any way,” he wrote in a June 22 statement .
The allegations are “serious and shocking”, he said, and “deserve an answer.”
That’s why we want an immediate inquiry into this matter.
Meanwhile, the public investigation into the mass shooting continues.
— Global News’ Brian Hill and Sean Boynton, The Canadian Press. with files of
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