By Canadian Press

Blair ‘very, very confident’ he didn’t interfere in RCMP mass shooting investigation

Jun 22, 2022 | 9:56 AM

OTTAWA — Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair says RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki never promised him the Mounties would release details on the guns used in the mass shooting in Nova Scotia to support pending federal gun legislation.

Blair was the minister of public safety at the time of the shooting spree that terrorized communities and killed 22 people over 13 hours on April 18 and 19, 2020.

A report published Tuesday by the inquiry investigating the tragedy includes notes from an RCMP superintendent alleging Lucki said she had promised Blair and the Prime Minister’s Office that information on the guns used by the shooter would be released as it affected pending gun control legislation.

Blair says no such promise was extracted or made and that he is “very, very confident” there was no interference by the government in the investigation.

Conservatives are demanding an emergency debate immediately followed by a deeper House of Commons committee investigation to get to the bottom of the allegations.

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Blair points out that at a news conference a day after the mass shooting, both he and Lucki said the investigation had to play out and that it would be inappropriate for the RCMP to release information on the guns until the investigation had verified the details.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 22, 2022.

The Canadian Press