A WEEK OF SECRETS
In a week of distracting news in Washington, the full implications of an alarming event inside Canada’s defence establishment have yet to be explained or acknowledged here at home.
A week ago, Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance signed an order temporarily removing his second-in-command from office. It wasn’t known why Vice-Admiral Mark Norman had to step aside; evidently no one felt the Canadian public was entitled to such trifling information.
So secretive has the military been in the wake of the removal that even the whereabouts of Vance himself were briefly secret. When the Citizen’s David Pugliese asked where he could find our top soldier, the Canadian Forces wouldn’t say. Pugliese speculated that Vance was at a NATO meeting in Brussels, not exactly a top-secret affair. Eventually the Forces ’fessed up that, yes, that’s where he had been.
Even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau feels it unnecessary to loop Canadians in on the removal from office of the second-in-command of our entire military.
Why does it matter that Canadians learn the broad strokes of the story? As the week went on and rumours swirled, unnamed sources told journalists that the RCMP was investigating potential leaks of sensitive documents on the $35-billion national shipbuilding strategy.
Next, two companies that intended to bid on the multibillion-dollar project requested the process be delayed — mostly because of problems with the bidding structure, but also in part because of the rumours about Norman. Two other companies were expected to echo this request. Uncertainty surrounding Norman’s suspension has added to the program’s woes.
Where does this leave us? With rampant speculation about potential security breaches at the top of our defence team; with further delays likely in a major shipbuilding exercise; and with no clue whether to trust those in charge: Vance, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and the prime minister.
Vance’s office has said all details of Norman’s removal fall under federal privacy provisions. Nonsense. Canadians respect an individual’s right to privacy, but where government’s top duty is concerned — the defence of our nation — officials must find ways of informing citizens, at least generally, about the nature of the case.
Whether Canadians like or dislike the new U.S. leader, for instance, he presides over a country that is transparent about dismissals or personnel problems among its military leaders. If they can do it, so can we. More respect for taxpayers — including for their right to information about their own security — is in order.