RCMP probe that led to Norman’s removal focused on ship project
The RCMP probe that led to the removal of Vice-Admiral Mark Norman as the Canadian military’s second-in-command also involves a high-powered defence industry lobbyist in Ottawa and an executive with a firm affiliated with a Quebec shipyard.
Multiple sources have confirmed the RCMP’s investigation is focused mainly on Project Resolve, a $700-million plan to provide the Royal Canadian Navy with a much-needed supply and refuelling ship.
In addition, sources said, police have interviewed more than 30 individuals at the Department of National Defence, Public Services and Procurement Canada and Federal Fleet Services, the firm overseeing the delivery of the supply ship and an affiliate of Quebec-based Davie Shipbuilding.
The RCMP are trying to find out who leaked information in 2015 that the Liberal government was considering shutting down the project, which is on schedule to deliver the ship to the navy this fall.
The Mounties interviewed Spencer Fraser, chief executive officer of the Ottawa-based Federal Fleet Services, as well as Brian Mersereau, chairman of Hill + Knowlton Strategies Canada. Mersereau is Federal Fleet Services’ Ottawa adviser and is registered to lobby the federal government on behalf of Davie.
On Jan. 9, 2017, the RCMP also raided the Ottawa home of Vice-Admiral Norman. Just hours later, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance made the unprecedented decision to remove Norman from his job as second-in-command.
Norman has been off the job with full pay since Jan. 9. No charges have been laid against him or anybody else as a result of the ongoing investigation, on which the RCMP has declined to comment.
A spokesman for Hill + Knowlton told Postmedia that “neither H and K Strategies nor any of its employees are the target of an investigation.”
A representative of Federal Fleet Services said that “Federal Fleet Services, Davie and its employees are not under investigation.”
Under Project Resolve, Federal Fleet Services is converting a commercial vessel to fuel and supply Canadian warships at sea, a project approved by the previous Conservative government and supported by navy commanders, who see it as critical to the country’s defence.
But the project has angered rival shipyards that had been promoting their own similar proposals.
In November 2015, CBC reported that the Liberals were delaying the program — a report that included details from a cabinet meeting, embarrassing the then-new Trudeau government and sparking outrage in Quebec about the potential loss of hundreds of jobs associated with the ship project.
Postmedia then reported that the Liberals’ delay came two days after James D. Irving, co-chief executive officer of Halifax-based Irving Shipbuilding, sent a letter to various cabinet ministers accusing the government of pursuing a sole-source contract for the project.
That letter, addressed to Procurement Minister Judy Foote and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and copied to Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Scott Brison, president of the Treasury Board and a prominent Nova Scotia Liberal, asked that the plan to purchase the converted ship from Davie and Federal Fleet Services be paused and reviewed.
Two days later, cabinet ordered the project halted and began a review of Project Resolve. The Liberals eventually backed away from any plans to scuttle the deal with Federal Fleet Services, but the RCMP began investigating who may have provided information to the media.
In a statement to Postmedia, Irving Shipbuilding said it has made no complaints to the RCMP related to Project Resolve. “Irving Shipbuilding and our affiliated companies have no involvement,” said Sean Lewis, director of communications for the firm. Officials with Seaspan in Vancouver, which is to build the permanent supply-ship fleet, also stated they did not raise any concerns with police.
Some observers see Project Resolve, expected to deliver a vessel on time and on budget, as a potential embarrassment to the government and the bureaucrats associated with the National Shipbuilding Strategy, a naval procurement effort that has been plagued by delays and cost overruns.
The Liberals’ delay of Project Resolve sent shock waves through the Royal Canadian Navy and the defence industry, since it had the potential to scuttle a key military capability.
The navy had been without refuelling and supply capability since the aging vessels that had performed the role were removed from service. In November 2014, Vice-Admiral Norman told a House of Commons committee that Canada could no longer rely on its allies, including the U.S. Navy, to resupply its warships.
The Liberal government has declined to discuss what led to Norman’s removal, but Sajjan and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have said they fully support Vance’s decision.
Norman’s supporters, however, have raised questions about whether due process was followed. They suggest he is the target of a Liberal government embarrassed by leaks about its handling of the troubled shipbuilding program and by questions about Irving’s influence in Ottawa.
In February, Norman’s lawyer, Marie Henein, denied any wrongdoing. “He has at all times served his country honourably and with the sole objective of advancing the national interest and the protection of Canada,” Henein said in a statement. “It would be a profound disservice to us all if a national hero ... was caught in the bureaucratic crossfire.”