Trudeau says Ottawa 'had a lot of questions' after N.S. mass shooting but didn't interfere in investigation

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government had questions about the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia but remained adamant his government did not interfere in the investigation.

His comments come as a Nova Scotia Mountie and the former director of communications claim there was political pressure coming from Ottawa over what to say in the aftermath of the deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history.

"We did not put any undo influence or pressure. It is extremely important to highlight that it is only the RCMP, it is only police that determine what and when to release information,"  said Trudeau, during a Thursday scrum with reporters in Kigali, Rwanda where he's attending a Commonwealth summit.

"I will highlight, however, that when the worst mass shooting in Canada's history happened, we had a lot of questions. Canadians had a lot of questions."

Trudeau said he still "very much" has confidence in Lucki, who he appointed in 2018, as she battles a new scandal after handwritten notes from Nova Scotia RCMP Supt. Darren Campbell were released earlier this week as part of the Mass Casualty Commission probe.

WATCH | Government denies interfering in N.S. mass shooting investigation:

The inquiry is investigating the April 18-19, 2020, rampage that claimed the lives of 22 people — including a pregnant woman — and left several people injured and several homes destroyed. 

In Campbell's notes, which were written after an April 28, 2020 conference call between headquarters and the division, he alleges that Lucki was upset that the RCMP in Nova Scotia were not revealing more information about the weapons used because she had promised the federal government — which was considering gun control legislation at the time — that they would raise it.

"The Commissioner said she had promised the minister of public safety and the Prime Minister's Office that the RCMP would release this information," he said.

Campbell wrote that he believed releasing information about the firearms might hurt the investigation.

"I tried to explain there was no intent to disrespect anyone, however we could not release this information at this time. The commissioner then said that we didn't understand, that this was tied to pending gun control legislation that would make officers and the public safer."

Just days after that April 28 meeting, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a ban on some 1,500 firearm makes and models, including two of the guns used in the Nova Scotia mass shooting — a Colt Law Enforcement Carbine, a semi-automatic weapon, and a Ruger Mini-14.

At that time, police had still not released the specific makes and models used in the attacks. That information didn't become public until the fall of 2020, when the National Post reported details of the weapons after obtaining a briefing note prepared for the prime minister after the shooting.

Investigators have said they believe the shooter, Gabriel Wortman, who didn't have a firearms licence, obtained three of the guns used during the massacre in Maine and smuggled them into Canada.