National Post

Norman fed shipyard Liberal secrets: RCMP

- David Pugliese

The RCMP believe one of the country’s top military officers provided an industry executive with a steady stream of sensitive informatio­n as well as advice on pressuring the federal government so the Royal Canadian Navy could receive a much- needed supply ship.

The allegation­s are contained in documents the RCMP filed to obtain a search warrant for Vice-Admiral Mark Norman’s electronic devices, which they executed on Jan. 9, raiding Norman’s Ottawa home. The documents, unsealed Wednesday morning after a legal challenge from a group of media organizati­ons including Postmedia, reveal for the first time the police theory that led to Norman’s removal earlier this year from the second-highest position in Canada’s military.

The RCMP alleged Norman gave informatio­n to Spencer Fraser, CEO of Project Resolve, the firm selected by the previous Conservati­ve government to provide the navy with an interim supply ship.

That i nformation al - legedly included updates on how the project was viewed within the new Liberal government, and details about concerns raised by rival shipyards.

“I believe that Norman, contrary to his obligation as an official of the Government of Canada, used his position as the Vice-Admiral of the Royal Canadian Navy to wilfully provide, on an ongoing basis, informatio­n subject to cabinet confidence to Fraser in an effort to circumvent the establishe­d processes and procedures put in place by the government to ensure the secrecy and confidenti­ality of cabinet discussion­s,” RCMP Cpl. Matthieu Boulanger stated in the sworn informatio­n to obtain a warrant.

The RCMP allege that “Norman did this to influence decision-makers within government to adopt his preferred outcome.”

“To this end, Norman not only provided Fraser with continuous updates of informatio­n subject to cabinet confidence regarding developmen­ts in the AOR file, but also directed Fraser to publicly discredit an industry expert and advised Fraser on the amount of pressure to apply toward government through the media,” Boulanger stated. ( AOR is a naval term for supply ships.)

In the sworn documents, Boulanger claims to have reason to believe that three offences have been committed: breach of trust by a public officer, wrongful communicat­ion of informatio­n and allowing possession of a document, the first in violation of the Criminal Code and the latter two, the result of alleged violations of cabinet confidence, prohibited by the Security of Informatio­n Act.

The al l egations have not been tested in court and Norman has not been charged with any crime. After the RCMP’s January raid on Norman’s home, Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance abruptly removed him from his post, offering no public explanatio­n for the unpreceden­ted move. Both Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have said they support Vance’s action. Norman’s lawyer, Marie Henein, has released a statement in which the vice- admiral unequivoca­lly denied any wrongdoing. Henein said Norman has been “caught in the bureaucrat­ic cross- fire,” but has not elaborated.

The project to deliver an interim supply ship, known as Project Resolve, was seen as critical to the navy since the service no longer had a vessel of its own which could resupply its warships at sea. After coming to power in October, 2015, however, the Liberals put the project on hold. The government eventually decided to proceed with the project, after determinin­g it would have to pay millions of dollars in fees if it cancelled Project Resolve.

The unsealed document, portions of which remain redacted to preserve federal cabinet privilege, contains details about Fraser’s emails to various officials with Chantier Davie, the Quebec shipyard behind Project Re- solve, as well as many of the emails themselves. At times Fraser refers to the source of the informatio­n as “our friend.” The RCMP contends Norman is that “friend.”

In other emails sent directly to Fraser, Norman discusses how the project is proceeding within government. “don’t want to sound too confident, but I think we are ok,” Norman wrote in a Nov. 15, 2015 email. ( All emails quoted in this story are reproduced verbatim.)

On Nov. 19, 2015, Fraser sent an email to Alex Vicefield, CEO of the parent firm that owns Chantier Davie, and to John Schmidt, a Davie official. The subject l i ne read, “From Mark.” It included several lines about Project Resolve, contained within quotation marks. “Most positive interpreta­tion could be govt just unsure and asking questions; cynical view could be folks manipulati­ng new govt to try to kill it. Not sure what the truth is. James Cudmore from CBC has rumours from inside somewhere, so this could get interestin­g.”

On Nov. 19, 2015, Fraser sent another email to Vicefield with the subject, “From our friend.” It also contained a statement in quotations: “I can tell you that Irving did stick their nose into this and sent a letter to multiple ministers ( incl Brison) a couple of days ago that no doubt contribute­d to the problem.”

That message referred to the letter that James D. Irving, co- CEO of Davie’s rival, Irving Shipbuildi­ng, wrote on Nov. 17, 2015, to Sajjan and to then- procuremen­t minister Judy Foote. Irving requested his company’s proposal for a similar vessel, already rejected by the Conservati­ve government, be examined by the Liberals.

Liberal cabinet ministers Scott Brison, head of the Treasury Board, and Bill Morneau, minister of finance, were cc’ed on the Irving letter.

On Nov. 20, 2015, Norman sent an email to Fraser telling him that CBC reporter Cudmore had obtained a copy of the Irving letter, “which shows they have been interferin­g.”

“Irving could trace letter to me… assholes… they couldn’t just leave it alone,” Norman added. “Greedy and self-serving.”

The RCMP doesn’t know how Cudmore obtained the Irving letter, but they allege that Norman knew the journalist had a copy or had been informed about the contents of the article before it was published. Cudmore, now a senior advisor to Sajjan, has declined several requests from Postmedia for comment on the Norman matter.

That same day, Fraser informed Norman that the company was meeting with Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard to let him know that there would be substantia­l layoffs at the Davie yard if the federal government cancelled Project Resolve.

Norman responded that the plan made sense, and said that Irving had apologized to him, presumably for sending the letter to the cabinet ministers. “I played nice but knew there were BS’ing me…its personal and vindictive,” Norman wrote.

Norman also told Fraser that the Prime Minister’s Office and the Privy Council Office were “having kittens over references to explicit cabinet discussion­s in Cudmore article. Launching an investig at ion…UFB .”

“They’ll all be distracted from the actual capability gap as they execute a which hunt for who quoted who….. sigh.”

Fraser also wrote in a Nov. 23, 2015, email to Vicefield and Schmidt that “our friend” wanted the firm to somehow discredit defence analyst Ken Hansen, who had told journalist­s that Project Resolve was needlessly complex and expensive.

The RCMP believed Fraser also learned that a West Coast shipyard, Seaspan, sent a letter to government ministers highlighti­ng its ability to provide an interim supply ship.

Fraser sent an email to Vicefield and Schmidt, again with the subject line, “From our friend.” The email read: “Fucking Seaspan just sent a letter to the same folks as Irving ( they cc’ed me so I can’t do anything with it.).”

The RCMP allege Norman was suggesting he couldn’t leak the letter, because he was the only non- minister to whom the letter was addressed. But the RCMP contend that another naval officer did provide the letter to those associated with Project Resolve.

On Nov. 25, 2015, Fraser sent an email about how happy he was with another Cudmore article on how the government needed to get control of the skyrocketi­ng costs of shipbuildi­ng programs being handled by his company’s rivals.

“Shock and awe baby!!!,” he wrote to Norman. Norman responded he had seen the article, and that Cudmore was “going to draw some really aggressive attention. The source of that document will be investigat­ed by the RCMP and anyone associated with him will be part of their search. This is serious shit.”

Irving Shipbuildi­ng has denied allegation­s of political meddling. Kevin McCoy, president of Irving Shipbuildi­ng, said in a statement that the firm reached out to the Liberal government to highlight its concerns and ask that its own proposal for a supply ship be fairly evaluated.

 ?? STEPH CROSIER / POSTMEDIA NEWS FILES ?? Vice-Admiral Mark Norman at Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston last November.
STEPH CROSIER / POSTMEDIA NEWS FILES Vice-Admiral Mark Norman at Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston last November.

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