Ship at heart of probe to be unveiled
The ship at the heart of the investigation into Vice-Admiral Mark Norman will be unveiled on Thursday, providing the Royal Canadian Navy with a capability to refuel its vessels at sea.
The $670-million Project Resolve saw Davie Shipbuilding and its affiliated firm Federal Fleet Services convert the commercial vessel Asterix over an 18-month period, transforming it into a refuelling and resupply vessel.
The unveiling at Davie’s Quebec shipyard will be attended by navy commander Vice-Admiral Ron Lloyd, federal Liberal MPs and Quebec government officials.
In the fall of 2015 the Liberal government tried to derail the Davie project, but a leak to the media about their plan forced its abandonment.
The Liberals called for a RCMP investigation into the leak, which led to the suspension earlier this year of Norman, then the country’s second-highest ranking military officer.
The RCMP have not charged the respected naval officer, and questions have since emerged about how solid any case against Norman might be.
Upon its completion, Project Resolve will provide the Royal Canadian Navy with the capability to independently refuel and resupply its warships at sea, for the first time in many years. Since the retirement of its own aging resupply vessels, Canada has at various times leased the services of Chilean and Spanish navy supply ships.
The project’s $670-million price tag includes the conversion of Asterix, the lease of its services to the navy for five years, maintenance and the salaries of a civilian crew to operate the vessel.
Navy crews will operate the resupply systems on board the vessel and the federal government has the option to buy the vessel at the end of the lease.
Asterix will be ready to provide its services to the navy beginning in November. It is expected to accompany Canadian warships on a major Pacific Ocean exercise next year.
“We’re extraordinarily proud that we’re delivering the next naval support ship for Canada,” Spencer Fraser, chief executive officer of Federal Fleet Services, said Wednesday. “It’s a cost-effective initiative. We’re delivering a capability at a quarter of the price.”
Asterix will be able to carry two Cyclone helicopters and also has medical facilities on board. In addition, it has space for light armoured vehicles and other equipment.
Halt the project was the focus of a Liberal cabinet meeting in November 2015 that was preceded by a letter to ministers from Davie’s rival, Irving Shipbuilding, which pointed out that firm had a similar plan for a supply ship.
The Asterix project, approved by the previous Conservative government, was already moving ahead and the ship had been delivered for conversion.
Media reports about the details of the Liberal decision to sideline that project embarrassed the then-fledgling Trudeau government, and sparked outrage in Quebec about the potential loss of hundreds of jobs were Davie to lose the ship deal. The Liberals beat a quick retreat and shortly afterwards, the deal went ahead.
But Liberal ministers complained to the RCMP about the leak and an investigation eventually focused on Norman, who had been updating Fraser about the progress of the project in government.
Norman’s motive, the RCMP claimed, was to put pressure on the Liberals to continue with the program.
Norman has denied any wrongdoing.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has suggested Norman will face trial, prompting concerns among the admiral’s supporters about whether he will get a fair hearing.
It is unclear, however, whether there is a legal case against Norman. The Ottawa Citizen revealed the RCMP has determined that information about Asterix was also leaked by another federal employee.
In addition, an Ontario Superior Court judge warned the RCMP at a hearing April 21 that its claims that Norman released information from a Liberal cabinet meeting could be on shaky ground.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Kevin Phillips questioned the main evidence presented by the police force, namely a series of emails between Norman and Fraser.
“The emails in question are by no means smoking guns,” Phillips wrote in his response to the application from a group of media outlets, including Postmedia, to make public such information. “At its highest, it appears that the potential allegation against Vice-Admiral Norman is that he was trying to keep a contractual relationship together so that the country might get a badly needed supply ship.”
Phillips noted that military procurement in Canada has been plagued by incompetence. “A reasonable member of the informed public might understand the frustration of being Vice-Admiral of a Navy that cannot on its own go more than a tank of gas away from port,” he said of Norman.
The RCMP has not commented on the case.
Asterix is considered an interim supply ship. The government is spending $2.3 billion on two new supply ships that will be built at Seaspan in British Columbia. The first of those ships is to be ready in 2021.
WE’RE ... PROUD THAT WE’RE DELIVERING THE NEXT NAVAL SUPPORT SHIP FOR CANADA.