VICE-ADMIRAL CHARGED WITH LEAKING INFO
Suspended a year ago amid tensions surrounding a government shipbuilding program, Mark Norman vows to clear his name in court ‘where politics have no place’
In an unprecedented move, the RCMP have charged the suspended second-in-command of the military with one count of breach of trust.
The force charged Vice-Admiral Mark Norman Friday in relation to the alleged leak of information about the government’s plan to delay Project Resolve, a program through which the Quebec firm Davie Shipbuilding was to provide the Royal Canadian Navy with a supply ship by converting a commercial vessel, the MS Asterix.
Details about the government’s autumn 2015 decision to put the project on hold leaked to the media, and the resulting embarrassment forced the government to back down on the delay. Furious about the leak, the Liberals called in the RCMP to investigate. In January 2017, after the police raided Norman’s suburban Ottawa house, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance temporarily removed him from his position as Vice-Chief and suspended him with pay.
The RCMP allege Norman “illegally disclosed government information to unauthorized parties,” charging him under Section 122 of the Criminal Code.
The case against Norman, 54, centres on a Nov. 19, 2015 meeting of cabinet ministers, who decided to delay Project Resolve after receiving a letter from Davie’s east coast rival, Irving Shipbuilding. Though it is considered to have close ties to Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, Irving has consistently denied allegations it has been involved in any political interference intended to undercut a rival shipyard.
Though Norman did not attend the cabinet meeting, the RCMP’s searches of electronic devices and computers at Davie showed he had exchanged emails on the subject with one of the company’s officials.
Norman has denied any wrongdoing. In a statement Friday, Norman’s lawyer Marie Henein said the officer “remains unwavering in his commitment confident in the knowledge that he has always acted in the best interests of this country.”
She also pointed to the ongoing secrecy of the investigation. “We were advised this morning, only hours before the information was sworn, that Vice-Admiral Norman was to be charged. That lack of transparency has unfortunately been a feature of this investigation for the last year.
“We will address this allegation with the very same commitment and strength that Vice-Admiral Norman has displayed throughout his distinguished career,” she added. “We will respond to this allegation in a courtroom where evidence, objectivity and fairness matter and where politics have absolutely no place.”
The RCMP investigation began in the fall of 2016. The raid on Norman’s house and his suspension took place in January 2017. In executing the search warrant, the RCMP seized thousands of files, including many personal papers. Police seized vacation photos as well as the pay stubs and medical records of the vice-admiral’s wife, Beverley. The following month, Henein called for an “objective investigation” to be concluded quickly. According to sources close to the matter, the RCMP presented its evidence to the federal prosecutor’s office last summer. In December 2017, RCMP officers re-interviewed some federal employees involved in the alleged leak.
Last year, an Ontario Superior Court judge raised concerns about the strength of the RCMP’s evidence against Norman.
In examining a request by media outlets, including Postmedia, for the release of the documents the RCMP provided the court to secure a search warrant, Justice Kevin Phillips remarked in an April 2017 ruling that prosecutors would face a challenge proving Norman was the first in leaky official Ottawa to have shared any cabinet confidences or other sensitive information from the meeting in question.
The RCMP have also alleged they believe another federal employee was also responsible for leaking such information. It is unclear how that allegation will affect the case against Norman.
In addition, former defence lobbyist Norbert Cyr told Postmedia that details of the 2015 cabinet meeting were known by a number of individuals in official Ottawa with no connection to Norman or Davie shortly after it concluded.
Phillips also pointed out in his ruling that it was not unusual for the viceadmiral to be communicating with Davie about the shipbuilding project, and that there was no evidence those communications were motivated by financial gain, and were instead to ensure the well-being of the navy and his sailors by securing the delivery of a badly needed vessel.
Norman now faces a potentially lengthy and expensive legal battle. Last year he requested assistance from a government fund that covers legal fees for employees involved in legal situations related to their work.
The Department of National Defence and the justice department declined that request, however, because they claimed Norman was guilty of disclosing confidential information, despite the absence of charges or a conviction and despite no internal or military investigation having been conducted.
That prompted a fundraising effort to help Norman with his legal bills which, by Friday, had raised almost $57,000.
Retired army colonel Lee Hammond of Vancouver said he started the fundraiser because he believes Norman is facing an unfair battle against the full force of the federal government.
The charge comes after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau predicted on two different occasions in the last year that Norman would end up in court, prompting concerns about political interference in the legal system.
Trudeau has not fully explained why he believed the investigation would see Norman in court but, last month, when he once again publicly predicted that the officer would be in court, Trudeau said he took Vance’s advice about Norman’s case.