Norman’s lawyers seek Trudeau correspondence
Defence alleges possible political motivation
OTTAWA • Crown prosecutors urged an Ottawa judge on Friday to keep the scope of the criminal case against Vice Admiral Mark Norman narrow — and thus avoid forcing the disclosure of reams of government documents ahead of the trial.
Among the documents at stake are communications to and from the office of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the subject of the investigation and prosecution of Norman. Norman’s lawyer Marie Henein alleges the case may have been politically motivated, and needs the documents to prove it.
Norman, once the secondhighest officer in Canada’s military, has been charged with leaking cabinet secrets over the course of a year to keep a $700-million navy procurement project with Davie Shipbuilding on track. Ahead of his trial, scheduled for next August, Justice Heather Perkins-McVey must decide how much government disclosure Norman needs in order to fully defend himself.
For three days, Norman’s defence team has been making its case for why it needs access to documents held by the Prime Minister’s Office, the Privy Council Office, the Department of National Defence and other government departments.
Friday was the Crown’s first chance to make submissions, but first the court heard a barrage of allegations from Henein about the government’s involvement in the case.
Henein filed an exhibit consisting of emails between a Crown prosecutor and legal counsel in the Privy Council Office, the government department that supports the Prime Minister. The emails show the Privy Council lawyer asking for updates on who has been identified as potential witnesses, what was discussed in judicial pre-trial meetings, and what the defence plans to argue in its pre-trial motions.
“What is at issue is we have reason to believe that the PCO is asking for a constant flow of information, and there are communications between the PCO and the PMO’s office about this case,” Henein told the court.
She said “the nature and tone” of the emails are especially problematic given Trudeau has a history of commenting publicly on the case, such as when Trudeau told reporters — before Norman was charged — that the matter would likely end up before the courts.
Crown prosecutor Mark Covan said exchanging information was necessary due to the fact the Privy Council Office has responsibility for maintaining cabinet secrets, and had to make decisions on how secret documents requested by the defence team were going to be disclosed, if at all.
Covan said the conversations were especially important because of how long it was taking for the government to disclose documents — the kind of delay that can jeopardize a trial.
“We were doing what we felt was necessary to get a response,” Covan told the judge. “It took a long time, I don’t deny that ... but there’s not a hint of abuse of process here. This is the Crown fulfilling its obligations.”
The dispute over access to the Prime Minister’s Office communications is just one of many that Perkins-McVey will have to settle during the hearing, which is scheduled to run until Tuesday. She will need to decide how many of the defence’s document requests are “likely relevant” to the trial.
Covan argued that many of the requests are unnecessary, and that Perkins-McVey should keep a very high threshold on what counts as likely relevant.
A key issue is whether the defence will be able to enter evidence about Norman’s motivations, which his lawyers argue was to carry out the wishes of the elected officials in the Harper government who wanted the ship. The defence has requested cabinet documents from the final year of the Harper government to support this argument.
Covan argued Norman’s motivations are irrelevant, saying the only thing that matters is whether Norman broke the law by releasing confidential information to Davie and the media.
“Even if Mr. Norman or other individuals thought that this ship was the absolute best thing for Canada, the absolute best thing for the navy, you can’t commit a crime to get that,” he said.
On Friday the Crown also filed as an exhibit its preliminary witness list, dated July 5, 2018.
It includes cabinet ministers Scott Brison and Catherine McKenna; General Jonathan Vance, chief of defence staff; Spencer Fraser, the CEO of the Davie shipbuilding project; and former CBC reporter — and now Liberal political staffer — James Cudmore, who received some of the alleged leaks.
The list could still change before the trial, scheduled to start Aug. 19, 2019.
It is scheduled to run for seven to eight weeks, meaning it may take place during the next federal election campaign.
THERE’S NOTA HINT OF ABUSE OF PROCESS HERE.